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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Division 


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THE    HIGH    PRIEST 


THE    SANCTUAipfirFsi^^_ 


*      NOV   7   1922      * 

TENT  OF  MEETING 

SSsuallg  (falleti  STJje  Eabcrnacle 


A   SHORT  STUDY   OF  ITS   FORMS,  MATERIALS,  ETC. 


BY 


G.    WOOLWORTH    COLTON 


NEW  YORK 

G.  W.  &  C.  B.  COLTON  &  COMPANY 

1895 


Copyright  1895 

BY    G.    W.    AND    C.    B.    COLTON    &    Co. 


Typography  by  Mass,  New-Church  Union,  Boston, 


PREFACE. 


The  incentive  to  this  study  was  the  desirabihty 
of  having  a  series  of  illustrations  of  the  tabernacle 
and  its  furniture,  to  accompany  a  new  Sunday 
School  map  showing  the  route  of  the  Israelites 
in  their  journey  from  Egypt  to  Canaan.  Fail- 
ure on  a  former  occasion  to  obtain  a  satisfac- 
tory result  from  commentators,  led  now  to  a 
careful  examination  of  the  Bible  record,  and  new 
things  were  seen  almost  from  the  commence- 
ment, every  one  of  which  carried  with  it  changes 
in  other  parts  of  the  structure,  so  that,  in  the 
end,  a  scheme  was  developed  differing  essen- 
tially from    anything    before    published. 

To  prove  the  accuracy  of  the  conclusions 
reached,  models  on  accurate  scales  were  made 
of    boards,    curtains,    etc.     The    views    presented 


iv        THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OE  MEETING 

here  are,  therefore,  practical  and  not  simply 
theories  which  may  fail  when  put  to  actual 
tests.  The  story  has  been  taken  literally.  Noth- 
ing has  been  intentionally  added  to  the  plain 
record,  and  everything  mentioned  there  is  be- 
lieved to  be  present.  The  forms  are  simple,  and 
harmonize  with  our  knowledge  of  those  still  pre- 
vailing in  that  land  of  unchanging  customs,  and 
thus,  presumably,  with  those  of  the  distant  day 
when  Moses  saw  in  vision  the  models  he  was 
to    follow. 

The  author,  though  thinking  the  views  pre- 
sented to  be  a  distinct  advance  on  those  gener- 
ally held,  makes  no  claim  to  having  finally  set- 
tled any  controverted  point.  He  has  made  too 
many  changes  in  his  own  work  as  his  study  has 
progressed,  and  has  been  too  often  obliged  to 
choose  between  conflicting  presentations,  to  allow 
him  to  think  that  the  view  finally  adopted  is 
certainly  the  true  one.  The  things  now  seen  are 
thus  presented,  in  the  hope  that  students  of  the 
Sacred  volume  may  be  helped  thereby  to  form 
correct  mental  pictures  of    this    wonderful   struc- 


PREFACE  y 

ture,  and  of  its  contents,  and  thus  to  create  natu- 
ral vessels  that  may  be  filled  with  spiritual  truth. 

One  important  object,  kept  constantly  in  mind, 
has  been  to  present  the  subject,  both  as  to 
parts  and  as  a  whole,  in  a  manner  which  would 
enable  teachers  in  our  Sunday  Schools  to  be- 
come so  familiar  with  the  details  involved,  that 
they  could  impart  them  pleasantly  and  instruc- 
tively to  their  pupils,  thus  helping  them  to 
change  otherwise  dry  details  into  things  of  life 
and  beauty.  It  is  also  thought  that  with  the 
objects  plainly  described  and  pictured,  it  may  be 
possible  for  a  class  of  ordinarily  ingenious  boys 
and  girls  to  make  a  model  of  the  building  for 
themselves.  Such  an  attempt,  even  if  it  should 
not  prove  eminently  successful,  could  not  fail 
to  fix  details  in  their  minds  which  would  be 
most  useful    to    them. 

The  text  used  is  the  Authorized  version,  be- 
cause that  is  in  the  hands  of  all  our  Sunday- 
School  teachers  and  scholars,  although  another 
translation  might,  in  some  cases,  have  given  a 
clearer    expression    to    the    original. 


vi        THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

Acknowledgement  is  gratefully  made  of  the 
help  which  has  been  cheerfully  given  by  all  of 
whom  it  has  been  asked,  as  to  the  subtle  mean- 
ings of  Hebrew  words  and  their  application  to 
this  narrative  ;  but  especially  is  this  due  to  the 
painstaking  labor  of  a  lifetime  given  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  this  subject  by  Rev.  T.  O.  Paine, 
LL.  D.,  and  published  by  him  in  his  great  work 
on  the  "Holy  Houses."  Widely  differing  from 
his  conclusions  on  the  form  of  the  building,  the 
arrangement  of  the  curtains,  and  on  other  points, 
his  philological  researches  and  the  mass  of  facts 
he  has  drawn  from  very  many  sources,  has  opened 
the  door  for  truer  conceptions  of  the  tabernacle 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible. 

G.  W.  C. 


CONTENTS 


PAGH 

Preface "i- 

I.    The  Tabernacle 3 

The  Use  of  Mishkan  and  Ohel 5 

The  Bedouin  Tent 6 

11.    The  Planks  and  Associated  Members 8 

The  Planks,  their  Thickness  and  Make 9 

The  Corner  Planks 1 1 

The  Rings  Beneath  and  Above  the  Head      ....  I2 

The  Tenons  and  their  Arrangement 13 

The  Socket-Blocks,  their  Form,  etc 14 

The  Side  Bars  and  their  Rings 16 

The  Veil  and  Door  Pillars  and  their  Bars      ....  18 

III.    The  Curtains 22 

The  Linen  and  Wool  Colored  Curtains 23 

The  Colors  in  Stripes 24 

The  Loops  and  their  Arrangement 25 

The  Taches,  their  Form 27 

Doubling  the  Tabernacle  Curtains 29 

Where  they  were  placed 29 

Arrangement  of  the  Surplus  in  the  Corners       ...  31 
Meaning  of  the  Horizontal,  Perpendicular,  and  Di- 
agonal Lines  of  the  Curtains    31 

Other  Arrangements  of  the  Curtains 33 

The  Cherubim,  their  Form  and  Place 35 

The  Holy  of  Holies  a  picture  of  the  Holy  City     .    .  36 


viii  CONTENTS 


III.  The  Curtains — Continued.  page 

The  Goats'-Hair  Tent 36 

How  United  and  where  Placed 37 

The  Overhanging  Cubit  on  Each  Side 39 

The  Priests'  Chambers  of  the  Temple 40 

The  Tent  Overhanging  the  Rear  Wall 41 

The  Skin  Coverings  Above  the  Tent 41 

The  "  Badgers'  "  Skins 43 

IV.  The  Furniture 45 

The  Ark  and  the  Mercy-Seat 46 

The  Staves  of  the  Ark 47 

The  Pot  of  Manna  and  Aaron's  Rod 49 

The  Altar  of  Incense 50 

The  Table  and  its  Vessels 52 

The  Lamp-Stand  and  its  Lamps 53 

The  Altar  of  Burnt  Offering 59 

The  Laver 61 

V.     The  Court  and  its  Walls 63 

The  Spacing  of  the  Court  Pillars 64 

The  Arrangement  of  the  Gate  and  of  the  East  End  65 

The  Pillars  of  the  Sides  and  of  the  West  End  ...  69 

Height  and  Material  of  the  Court  Pillars 70 

VI.     Removal  and  Re-erection  of  the  Tabernacle  .  71 
The  Work  Apportioned  Amongst   the  Three  Fami- 
lies of  the  Levites 71 

The  Coverings  of  the  Furniture 72 

The  Process  and  Order  of  Erection 73 

The  Poles  Supporting  the  Tabernacle  Curtains     .    .  74 

VII.    The  Priestly  Garments 76 

The  Linen  Breeches 77 

The  Linen  Coat 77 

The  Robe  of  Blue 78 

The  Bells  and  Pomegranates 80 


LIST  OF  ILL  USTRA  TIONS  ix 


VII.    The  Priestly  Garments — Continued.  page 

The  Ephod 80 

The  Stones  of  Memorial  upon  the  Shoulders    ...  81 

The  Breastplate,  its  Forna  and  Fabric 82 

The  Twelve  Stones  of  the  Breastplate 83 

The  Head-Dress  of  the  High  Priest 84 

Conclusion      ^5 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Frontispiece,  Aaron's  Robes. 

Perspective  View  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  Court  .  2 

A  Small  Bedouin  Tent 3 

The  Planks,  Bars,  and  Pillars 8 

The  Twinned  Corner  Planks 12 

The  Ring  "  Above  the  Head  " 12 

A  Socket-Block,  its  Form 14 

The  Ring  "  Beneath  "  and  its  Support 15 

The  Tenons  in  Pairs 15 

The  Middle  Side  Bar  connected    with   the    Middle 

Bar  of  the  Rear  Series 17 

The  "Waf"  of  the  Moabite  Stone 19 

The  Bar  Over  the  Door  Pillars 20 

The  Pillars  of  the  Tabernacle 20 

Five  Colored  Curtains  United 25 

The  Taches  in  their  relation  to  the  Colors     ....  27 

Suggested  Form  of  the  Tache 27 

North  and  South  Section  of  the  Holy  of  Holies   .    .  29 

East  and  West  Section  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  ...  30 
The  Overhanging  Cubit  with  the   Taches   covering 

the  Veil 3° 

The  Surplus  of  Curtain  in  the  Corners 3 1 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Interior  of  the  Tabernacle,  Longitudinal  View     .    .  32 

The  Goats'-Hair  Tent  Curtains,  how  United     ...  37 

The  Goats'-Hair  Tent  Curtains,  Longitudinal  Section  38 

The  Goats'-Hair  Tent  Curtains,  Cross  Section  ...  39 

The  Ark  and  the  Mercy-Seat 45 

The  Altar  of  Incense 50 

The  Table 52 

The  Lamp-Stand  or  Candlestick 53 

The  Triple  Lamp,  Flower,  Knop,  etc 56 

Ground  Plan  of  the  Tabernacle 0   ,  58 

The  Altar  of  Burnt  Offering 59 

The  Laver 61 

Ground  Plan  of  the  Court 66 

The  High  Priest's  Robes. 

The  Robe  of  Blue  as  Woven 79 

The  Robe  of  Blue  as  Prepared  for  Wear 79 

The  Robe  of  Blue  as  Worn 79 

The  Bells  and  Pomegranates 80 

The  Ephod  and  the  Curious  Girdle 8i 


I. 


THE   TABERNACLE. 


According  to  all  that  I  show  thee,  after  the  pattern  of  the 
tabernacle,  and  the  pattern  of  all  the  instruments  thereof, 
even  so  shall  ye  make  it. 

And  look  that  thou  make  them  after  their  pattern,  which 
was  showed  thee  in  the  mount.     (Exod.  xxv.  9,  40.) 

The  form  of  the  tabernacle  and  of  its  furniture, 

even  to  the  minutest  detail,  was  shown  to   Moses 

in  vision.     They  are  therefore  heavenly  forms  and, 

as  such,  they  are  worthy  of  our  closest  and  most 

careful  study  ;  not  as  beautiful  artistic  creations 

3 


4         THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

as  compared  with  aesthetic  standards  of  today,  but 
as  containants  or  embodiments  of  spiritual  truth 
beyond  our  power  to  exhaust,  and  the  more  we 
examine  them,  the  more  we  will  see  in  every 
feature. 

In  the  Mosaic  record  the  furniture  —  the  ark 
with  its  mercy-seat,  the  table,  and  the  lamp-stand 
—  is  first  described;  then  the  curtains,  followed 
by  the  wooden  walls  and  the  socket-blocks  for 
their  foundation  and  support  ;  then  the  veil,  the 
door  curtain,  the  great  altar,  and  the  court  hang- 
ings. The  altar  of  incense,  one  of  the  sacred 
articles  in  the  outer  room  of  the  tabernacle,  is  not 
spoken  of  until  after  descriptions  of  the  official 
clothing  of  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  directions  for 
the  sacrifices  and  ceremonials  connected  with  their 
induction  into  their  high  offices. 

The  meaning  of  this  order  it  is  not  the  province 
of  this  study  to  explain.  It  is  enough,  here,  to 
acknowledge  that  every  item  follows  the  order 
of  the  development  of  the  spiritual  dwelling-place 
of  the  Divine  in  man.  Here  it  is  proposed  to 
consider  briefly   the   things   seen    in    the    natural 


MISHKAN  AND  OHEL  ^ 

descriptions  of  the  several  parts  —  things  which, 
pointed  out,  seem  in  the  main  so  evident  that  it 
is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  so  varying  and  con- 
flicting views  have  prevailed  and  are  found  in  our 
commentaries. 

Instead  of  following  the  order  given  in  the 
Word,  it  seems  better  for  our  present  end  to 
consider  the  frame-work  and  its  accessories  first, 
then  the  curtains  to  complete  the  structure,  and 
lastly  the  articles  the  tabernacle  is  to  contain, 
and  which  make  it  the  sanctuary  —  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  Divine  Presence ;  after  which  we 
will  consider  the  Court  and  its  curtains,  and  some 
features  presented  in  the  High  Priest's  dress. 

In  the  descriptions  of  the  tabernacle  two  He- 
brew words  are  used  —  Mishkdn  ?ind  0/iel — both 
meaning  in  general  a  tent  used  as  a  dwelling- 
place.  In  King  James's  version  both  are  ren- 
dered sometimes  **  tent,"  and  in  other  places  "tab- 
ernacle." In  the  Revised  Version  a  distinction  is 
made,  Mishkdn  being  uniformly  translated  *' taber- 
nacle," and  6^/^^/ "  tent."  Considered  as  to  their 
primary  meaning  MisJikdn  has  the  sense  of  a  dwell- 


6         THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

ing-place  from  Shakaii,  ''  to  lie  down,  to  dwell," 
and  0/iel  means  the  ordinary  tent,  and  is  so  used 
from  the  time  of  Abram  onward.  But  besides 
these  restricted  meanings  of  tent  and  dwelling- 
place,  both  words  are  evidently  used  in  a  broader 
sense ;  Ohel  to  include  the  spaces  beneath  the 
canopy  within  and  without  the  walls,  and  Mishkdn, 
the  whole  building  in  all  its  parts  and  appoint- 
ments. 

The  tabernacle,  then,  as  a  whole,  was  a  tent, 
in  its  essential  features  like  the  tents  of  the 
nomads  of  the  desert  of  that  day  and  this,  but 
glorified  in  its  materials  and  workmanship  ;  the 
nearly  flat  tent-roof  enlarged  and  multiplied,  its 
walls  made  higher  and  more  solid,  and  its  parti- 
tion richer  in  fabric,  in  colors,  and  embroidery. 

The  illustration  at  the  head  of  this  chapter  is 
a  true  picture  of  a  small  Bedouin  tent,  remarkable 
in  showing  simplicity  of  construction  and,  very 
closely,  the  proportions  of  the'  tabernacle  ;  for  if 
the  length  between  the  end  roof-su})ports  be  taken 
as  a  scale  of  thirty,  the  width  and  height  of  sides 
is  ten,  and   the  height  of  centre  the   same  as   de- 


BEDOUIN  TENT 


manded  by  the  curtains  of  the  tabernacle.  Ex- 
cepting the  central  one,  all  the  tent-poles  are  for 
the  support  of  the  outer  edge  or  eaves  of  the 
tent,  and  if  in  their  stead  we  should  build  a  solid 
wall  of  wood  we  would  have  a  miniature  taber- 
nacle (viewed  from  the  north),  with  the  tent  roof 
called  for,  the  overhanging  surplusage  at  the  back, 
and  an  approach  to  the  spaces  surrounding  the 
sacred  building. 


II. 


THE    PLANKS   AND    ASSOCIATED 
MEMBERS. 


THE      PL'ANKS.    BARS.  AND     PILLARS 

And  thou  shalt  make  boards  for  the  tabernacle  of  shittim 
wood  standing  up.  Ten  cubits  shall  be  the  length  of  a 
board,  and  a  cubit  and  a  half  shall  be  the  breadth  of  one 
board.  Two  tenons  shall  there  be  in  one  board,  set  in  order 
one  against  another  ;  thus  shalt  thou  make  for  all  the  boards 
for  the  tabernacle.  And  thou  shalt  make  the  boards  for  the 
tabernacle,  twenty  boards  on  the  south  side  southward.  .  .  . 
And  for  the  second  side  of  the  tabernacle  on  the  north  side 
there  shall  be  twenty  boards.     (Exod.  xxvi.  i  5-18,  20.) 


This  description  vSccms  to  admit  of  but  one  in- 

8 


THE  PLANKS 


terpretation,  but  still  there  are  points  to  be  con- 
sidered which  the  making  of  a  model  has  brought 
into  view.  Nothing  is  said  here  of  the  thickness 
of  these  planks,  nor,  clearly,  of  the  relation  of 
the  tenons  each  to  the  other,  though  it  is  evident 
that  there  is  a  uniform  rule  for  these,  and  that 
all  the  planks  are  alike  in  these  respects. 

Josephus  says  that  the  planks  were  one  hand- 
breadth  in  thickness,  and  in  this  nearly  all  com- 
mentators and  illustrators  have  followed  him. 
Still  there  are  indications  that  these  planks  were 
two  hand-breadths  thick,  one  of  these  being  the 
necessity  of  extending  the  middle  bar  of  the  sides 
to  the  extreme  west  end  of  the  building,  as  spoken 
of  later  ;  and  another  is  derived  from  a  study  of 
Solomon's  temple,  which  in  so  many  ways  bears 
direct  help  in  solving  tabernacle  questions.  The 
serious  objection  to  this  plan  is  the  doubling  of 
bulk  and  weight  in  transportation  —  certainly  a 
thing  to  be  considered.  Our  present  illustrations 
show  the  planks  as  of  the  greater  thickness  — 
two  hand-breadths. 

A  point  that  has  given  occasion  for  much  criti- 


10       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 

cism,  even  of  profane  ridicule  of  the  sacred  nar- 
rative, is  that  of  the  possibility  of  procuring  pieces 
of  timber  of  the  dimensions  named.  Shittim 
wood  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  things  to  be 
brought  as  offerings  of  materials  needed  for  the 
building  ;  and  in  Exod.  xxxv.  24,  we  are  told 
that  every  man  with  whom  was  found  shittim 
wood  for  any  work  of  the  service  brought  it  ;  and, 
later,  that  all  the  materials  needed  were  super- 
abundant. 

Shittim  wood  was,  therefore,  something  which 
in  suitable  form  for  the  proposed  work  was  with 
many  families,  and  in  greater  than  the  required 
quantity.  Planks  of  the  size  named  —  fifteen  feet 
long,  twenty-seven  inches  wide,  and  six  inches 
thick  after  being  worked  down  —  would,  indeed, 
be  difficult  to  procure  in  our  best  present  markets ; 
but  nothing  in  the  account  makes  it  improbable 
that  these  were  manufactured  —  were  the  result 
of  man's  labor  in  joining  smaller  pieces  of  wood 
such  as  tent  poles  ;  and  a  plank  so  made  would 
keep  its  integrity  of  shape  much  better  than  would 
one    of    natural  growth.     In  fact  this  seems   the 


THE  CORNER  PLANKS  AND  RINGS  \  \ 

only  way  such  massive  planks  could  have  been 
procured.  The  skill  to  make  them  was  certainly 
present,  and  under  Divine  Providence  the  mate- 
rials, as  we  have  seen  above,  were  also  there. 
And  here  the  thought  or  question  comes  whether, 
if  the  planks  were  made  as  we  think  they  were, 
they  were  necessarily  solid  and  of  greater  weight 
than  if  of  the  smaller  dimensions,  when  they  must 
have  been  solid.  The  element  of  weight  seems 
to  be  quite  as  important  in  settling  the  question 
of  transportation  as  is  that  of  bulk. 

And  for  the  sides  of  the  tabernacle  westward  thou  shalt 
make  six  boards.  And  two  boards  shalt  thou  make  for  the 
corners  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  two  sides.  And  they  shall 
be  coupled  together  beneath,  and  they  shall  be  coupled 
together  above  the  head  of  it  unto  one  ring :  thus  shall  it 
be  for  them  both  ;  they  shall  be  for  the  two  corners.  (ExOD. 
xxvi.  22-24.) 

Many  have  been  the  attempts  to  make  a  satis- 
factory explanation  of  this  very  simple  account  — 
simple  when  it  is  once  seen.  Six  boards  are  first 
described,  all  alike,  and  in  every  respect,  as  to 
size,  tenons,  and  socket-blocks,  like  the  forty  on 
the   north   and  south  sides  ;    but  the  two  subse- 


12       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OP  MEETING 


quently  pictured  are  different,  or  they  would  not 
have  been  so  particularly  noticed.  These  two 
corner  planks  were,  as  a  whole,  exactly  like  the 
others  ;  the  difference  is  that  they  are  each  cut 
into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  A  cubit 
and  a  half  is  nine  hand-breadths  and  the 
nearest  we  can  come  to  an  unfractional 
equal  division  of  these  is  four  and  five, 
and,  so  divided,  each  of  the  pieces  has  a 
tenon  and  a  socket-block.  The  two  are 
angled,  and  are  joined  to  the  last  plank 
of  the  side  series  by  a  ring  ''beneath"  and 
a  ring  "above  the  head."  These  rings 
are    countersunk    into    the    body  of   the 


0 


Kv>^ 


'/2  cu  ^9  hand  breadths 


planks,  and  unite  the 
three  members  of  each 
corner  into  firm  startingf 
points  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  walls  which, 
as  we  will  see,  are  thus 
so  strongly  united  as  to  need  no  addition  of  cords 
or  mortises  or  plates  to  prevent  either  collapse  or 
outward  spread. 


Upper  end  of  planks, 
north  wesl  corner'. show- 
ing manner  of  couplin.^by 
the  Rin^  above  the  Head . 


The  tenons 


n 


In  some  plans  of  the  tabernacle  the  planks  are 
assumed  to  need  support,  and  they  are  shown  as 
tongued  and  grooved,  or  with  dowels  ;  in  others, 
plates  are  added  on  the  top  over  the  joints  for 
the  same  purpose,  but  such  additions  seem  unnec- 
essary with  the  corners  well  secured,  the  cross 
bars  to  be  spoken  of  later,  and  the  long  outside 
bars  called  for  in  the  description. 

The  tenons,  two  to  each  plank,  are  not  de- 
scribed as  to  size  or  materials.  Josephus  speaks 
of  them  as  having  been  of  silver  and,  of  course, 
as  driven  into  the  body  of  the  board  ;  but  this 
seems  not  so  likely  a  plan  as  that  they  were 
projections  of  the  body  of  the  plank,  especially 
if,  as  seems  probable,  these  were  manufactured  by 
joining  several  smaller  pieces,  in  which  case  the 
extension  of  the  proper  member  would  give  the 
desired  result.  Then,  too,  such  a  tenon  with  its 
larger  surface  and  greater  purchase  would  be 
much  stronger  and  more  useful  than  would  a 
smaller  one  of  silver.  The  position  of  these  ten- 
ons on  the  planks  is  determined  by  the  necessity 
of   having   a   socket-block  under  each  corner  for 


H 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OE  MEETING 


the  support  of  the  ring  beneath  the  twinned 
boards.  Dr.  Paine  in  his  great  and  exhaustive 
work  on  the  "  Holy  Houses  "  demonstrates  that 
a  talent  of  silver,  the  amount  contained  in  each 
of  the  socket-blocks  (Exod.  xxxviii.  27),  would 
make  exactly  nine  cubic  hand-breadths,  and  ex- 
periment with  different  forms  has  led  to  the 
adoption  of  4  x  2  1-2  hand-breadths  =  10,  from 
which  take  out  the  area  required  by  the  socket 
and  9  square  hand-breadths  are  left, 
in  a  shape  to  give  greater  strength 
and  stability  to  the  structure  than 
if  square.  This  shape  also  fits  the 
requirements  of  support  under  the 
corners  of  the  building  for  the  ring  which  must 
be  beneath,  and  that  the  planks  must  be  ten- 
oned alike.  They  are  in  pairs.  They  cannot 
be  separated  further,  or  be  equally  spaced  under 
the  whole  extent  of  wall,  nor  can  they  be  brought 
closer  together  and  give  the  necessary  support  to 
the  bottom  ring,  as  an  examination  of  the  dia- 
gram or  experiment  will  show.  It  now  rests  not 
only  on  the  corner  block,  but  also  on  those  ad- 


p. 

m 

TENONS  AND  SOCKETS 


15 


joining  it   on   both   sides. 


Under  end  of  corner 
planks, showing  the  Ring 
and  its  three  supporting 


The  Revised  Version 
of  ExoD.  XXXV,  2, 
reads,  "  two  tenons 
joined  one  to  an- 
other," where  the  Au- 
thorized Version 
reads,  "  two  tenons 
equally    distant    one 


\i^^     socket  blocks 

from  another."  This  seems  to  mean,  as  here 
developed,  that  they  were  separated  somewhat, 
but  nearer  together  as  pairs,  than  each  pair  was 
from  the  next. 


^  \  fS^ah.b.jtl     4!^"hb 


This  plan  makes  the  inner  line  of  the  socket- 
blocks  flush  with  the  inner  face  of  the  planks, 
and  outside  they  project  much  as  the  feet  of  a 
file  of  soldiers,  in  pairs.  It  may  also  be  noted 
that  the  extreme  width  of  the  foundation  on  the 
west  end,  from  the  outside  of  southern  corner 
socket-block  to  the  outside  of  the  northern  corner, 
is  exactly  twelve  cubits  —  a  measure  which  seems 
to  be  associated  with  this  place. 


1 6      THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OE  MEETING 

And  thou  shalt  make  bars  of  shittim  wood  ;  five  for  the 
boards  of  the  one  side  of  the  tabernacle  and  five  bars  for 
the  boards  of  the  other  side  of  the  tabernacle,  and  five  bars 
for  the  boards  of  the  side  of  the  tabernacle. for  the  two  sides 
westward.  And  the  middle  bar  in  the  midst  of  the  boards 
shall  reach  from  end  to  end.  And  thou  shalt  overlay  the 
boards  with  gold,  and  make  their  rings  of  gold  for  places 
for  the  bars  ;  and  thou  shalt  overlay  the  bars  with  gold. 
(ExoD.  xxvi.  26-29.) 

Nothing  is  said  of  the  thickness  of  these  bars, 
but  the  probabihties  are  that  they  were  a  hand- 
breadth  in  diameter ;  and  this  conclusion  is 
reached  in  part  by  the  requirement  that  the 
middle  bar  of  each  of  the  side  series  must  extend 
from  end  to  end  of  the  building.  This  diameter 
admits  the  bar  to  extend  through  the  return  or 
elbow  of  the  end  plank,  without  materially  weaken- 
ing it  (that  is  if  the  planks  were  two  hand-breadths 
in  thickness),  to  the  corresponding  bar  of  the  west 
end,  and,  with  a  dowel  on  the  end  of  the  side  bar, 
to  enter  into  a  socket  in  the  other  as  Josephus 
says  it  did.  Any  one  constructing  a  model  of 
the  tabernacle  on  a  scale,  say  of  two  inches  to  a 
cubit,  will  recognize  the  importance  of  this  feature 
and    the    secure    locking    of    the    sides    together, 


SIDE  BARS  AND  RINGS 


17 


thereby  leaving  no  possible  chance  for  spreading 
of  the  walls 
at  the  end.      ( 

The  four 
remaining  bars  of  each  series 
were  two  in  the  upper  tier  and 
two  in  the  lower,  and  these  were  probably  of 
nearly  equal  length.  These  do  not  appear  to 
have  gone  through  to  the  extreme  west  end  of 
the  building,  but  seem  to  have  stopped  at  the 
easterly  face  of  the  elbow  of  the  corner  plank. 

The  rings  usually  represented  as  round  were 
more  probably  flat,  like  sections  of  a  tube  ;  for 
such  rings  could  be  as  readily  and  as  firmly  at- 
tached to  the  planks  as  if  round,  and  there  would 
be  no  staples,  or  their  equivalent,  to  interfere  with 
the  free  passage  of  a  round  bar  through  them. 
With  the  corners  of  the  building  secured  both 
by  the  rings  and  the  bars  as  above  described, 
one  such  ring  on  a  plank  for  each  series  is  all- 
sufficient  for  strength,  and,  indeed,  is  far  better 
in  use  than  two. 

All  the  forty-eight  planks  and   the  fifteen   bars 


I  3       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

were  to  be  overlaid  with  gold,  but  whether  this 
was  in  the  form  of  plates  or  of  gold-leaf  we  are 
not  informed.  It  must  have  been  thin,  for  no  al- 
lowance seems  to  have  been  made  for  it  in  pre- 
paring the  wood  form.  The  dimensions  given 
include  the  gold. 

The  pillars  for  the  veil  and  for  the  door-screen 
with  the  bars  supported  by  them,  were  to  be  of 
wood  and  gold  covered. 

And  thou  shalt  hang  it  [the  veil]  upon  four  pillars  of 
shittim  wood  overlaid  with  gold  :  their  hooks  shall  be  of 
gold,  upon  the  four  sockets  of  silver.  .  .  .  And  thou  shalt 
make  for  the  hanging  [the  door  screen]  five  pillars  of  shittim 
wood,  and  overlay  them  with  gold,  and  their  hooks  shall 
be  of  gold  :  and  thou  shalt  cast  five  sockets  of  brass  for 
them.     (ExoD.  xxvi.  32,  37.) 

The  height  of  the  veil  pillars  is  not  given,  nor 
if  round  or  square  in  form.  The  only  instruction 
bearing  on  this  point  is,  that  the  veil  is  to  hang 
below  the  tachcs  joining  the  united  sets  of  linen 
and  wool  curtains  that  formed  the  tabernacle 
proper.  These  taches,  it  will  be  shown  later,  were 
not  more  than  one  cubit  below  the  top  of  the  side 
planks,  and  thus    these   pillars,   with  their  hcoks 


THE   VEIL  AND  DOORBARS  19 


and  the  bar  they  supported,  must  have  been  as 
hig-h  as  the  walls  —  ten  cubits.  Dr.  Paine,  in  the 
work  before  mentioned,  states  that  the  word  trans- 
lated hooks  —  waf — in  its  ancient  form  as  shown 
on  the  Moabite  stone  is  shaped 
thus :  and  such  a  form  upon  the 
top  of  each  of  the  four  pillars  is  pre- 
cisely the  thing  needed  as  a  rest  for 
a  bar  which,  extending  from  wall  to 
wall,  would  serve  as  a  support  both  for  the  veil 
and  for  the  rich  colored  curtains  of  the  tabernacle. 
This  bar  would  also  greatly  strengthen  the  walls 
and  effectually  prevent  all  danger  of  collapse. 
The  same  arrangement  for  the  door  screen  seems 
even  more  demanded  than  for  the  veil,  for  there 
not  only  is  that  curtain  to  be  supported,  but  pro- 
vision must  be  made  for  the  goats'-hair  tent  and 
the  outer  skin  coverings,  which  if  not  so  held  in 
place  must  have  special  support.  The  centre  line 
of  these  door  pillars  naturally  comes  on  the  line 
of  the  front  edge  of  the  first  side  planks,  or  thirty 
cubits  from  the  west  end  of  the  enclosed  area  ; 
the   centre  of  the  bar,  therefore,   is   in  the   same 


20       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

vertical  plane,  or  one  half  is  beyond  the  front  line 
of  the  building.      By  halving  the  bar  and  letting 


THE   BAR  OVER   THE   DOOR   PI  LLA  RS. SUPPORTING  THE  ROOF  COVERINGS 

from    above  /rem   the   inside  from  the  outside 


it  project  along  the  face  of  the  end  planks  we  not 
only  give  support  to  the  walls,  as  we  did 
with  the  bar  of  the  veil  pillars,  but  we 
give  a  firm  rest  to  the  goats'-hair  tent 
and  its  outer  skin-coverings  which,  in 
their  turn,  add  stability  to  the  structure 
and  bind  all    its  parts  securely  together. 

It  is  possible  that  both  the  veil  and  the 
door  screen  were  double  and  were  thrown 
over  the  bar,  thus  covering  both  sides  of 
the  pillars  ;  or  it  may  be  that  one  or  the 
other,  or  both,  were  single,  in  which  case 
hooks  must  be  added  to  the  pillars  and 
rings  to  the  curtains.  We  incline  to  the 
opinion    that    the   veil   was  double,    show- 

in^^    the    cherubim    on    the    inner    side   only,  and 


THE  TABERNACLE  PILLARS  21 

these  in  size  and  position  to  match  those  on  the 
north,  south,  and  west  sides  of  the  Most  Holy  ; 
and  that,  because  of  the  great  pressure  from  the 
roof-coverings  upon  the  front  bar  and  the  conse- 
quent difficulty  in  hanging  the  door  curtain  over 
it,  that  that  curtain  was  single  and  suspended 
from  hooks  in  the  pillars  under  the  overhanging 
doubled  eleventh  goats'-hair  curtain,  as  the  veil 
was  under  the  overhanging  tabernacle  curtains  and 
their  taches.  We  think,  too,  that  the  pillars  were 
more  likely  rectangular  than  round,  because  in 
this  form  their  bases  would  have  firmer  support, 
the  upper  face  would  present  a  better  place  for 
hooks  from  w^hich  to  hang  a  curtain,  and  would 
bring  the  edges  of  the  curtains  into  closer  con- 
nection with  the  walls. 


III. 

THE    CURTAINS. 


Moreover  thou  shalt  make  the  tabernacle  with  ten  curtains 
of  fine-twined  linen,  and  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet :  with 
cherubim  of  cunning  work  shalt  thou  make  them.  The 
length  of  one  curtain  shall  be  eight  and  twenty  cubits,  and 
the  breadth  of  one  curtain  four  cubits:  and  every  one  of 
the  curtains  shall  have  one  measure.  The  five  curtains  shall 
be  coupled  together  one  to  another ;  and  other  five  curtains 
shall  be  coupled  one  to  another.  And  thou  shalt  make  loops 
of  blue  upon  the  edge  of  the  one  curtain  from  the  selvedge 
in  the  coupling;  and  likewise  shalt  thou  make  in  the  utter- 
most edge  of  another  curtain,  in  the  coupling  of  the  second. 
Fifty  loops  shalt  thou  make  in  the  one  curtain  and  fifty  loops 
shalt  thou  make  in  the  edge  of  the  curtain  that  is  in  the 
coupling  of  the  second ;  that  the  loops  may  take  hold  one 
of  another.  And  thou  shalt  make  fifty  taches  of  gold,  and 
couple  the  curtains  together  with  the  taches :  and  it  shall  be 
one  tabernacle.     (Exod.  xxvi.  i-6.) 

In  the  above  description  we  have  many  items, 
all  important  and  each  bearing  on  every  other  — 
the  materials  of  which  the  curtains  were  made; 

23 


THE  COLORED  CURTAINS  33 


their  colors  ;  the  method  of  joining  each  five  into 
a  single  curtain  ;  how  the  loops  were  made  ;  what 
were  the  taches  and  how  they  were  used  ;  and, 
finally,  where  these  curtains  were  placed.  There 
is  no  unanimity  of  view  among  commentators  on 
any  one  of  these  points,  and  the  thoughts  upon 
them  presented  here  are  essentially  different 
from  any  known  to  have  been  published  hereto- 
fore. 

There  is  little  doubt  about  the  linen  having 
been  the  thread  of  the  warp,  or  that  the  colored 
threads  were  the  filling,  and  of  wool.  This  is 
not  so  stated,  but  it  is  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
the  linen  is  always  spoken  of  as  a  material  dis- 
tinct from  that  which  was  dyed.  Cloth  made 
of  a  combination  of  linen  and  wool  was  certainly 
known  to  the  people,  but  its  use  for  clothing  was 
forbidden  except  to  the  priest.  But  here  the 
cloth  was  not  for  garments  and  the  prohibition 
consequently  does  not  apply. 

The  colors  of  the  wool  are  always  named  in 
the  same  order— Blue,  Purple,  and  Scarlet.  We 
are  not  told  how  these  were  associated  or  used, 


24 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 


but  stripes  are  not  only  the  simplest  arrange- 
ment, but  it  is  the  one  in  common  use  today 
among  the  desert  peoples,  and  it  seems  probable 
that  these  curtains,  and  the  others  of  similar  ma- 
terials, were  woven  in  stripes.  Experiment  in 
trying  to  fit  the  taches  upon  stripes  so  as  to  fol- 
low some  order  representing  or  embodying  spir- 
itual truth,  seems  to  support  this  assumption  and 
to  prove  that  the  stripes  were  each  a  hand-breadth 
in  width. 

The  colors  here  called  blue,  purple,  and  scarlet 
were  not  those  we  know  by  those  names.  The 
blue  was  warmed  by  a  considerable  infusion  of 
red.  Our  purple  is  a  color  midway  between  blue 
and  red,  whereas  this  was  a  deep  crimson  inclined 
towards  blue,  but  still  far  from  the  idea  conveyed 
by  the  name  purple  as  popularly  used.  The  scar- 
let would  more  properly  be  described  as  "Flame" 
color.  We  thus  have  in  the  colors  named  an 
ascending  series.  "These  three  colors  serve  most 
accurately  to  discriminate  the  threefold  quality  of 
the  sincere  worshipper,  i.  Blue,  descriptive  of 
the  quality  of  celestial  light  or  truth ;  2,  Crimson 


THE  COLORED  CURTAINS 


25 


(purple),  the  quality  and  brilliancy  of  celestial  heat 
or  love  in  the  affections  of  the  will  ;  and  3, 
Flame  (scarlet),  denoting  the  quality  and  warmth 
of  enlightened  faith  and  mutual  charity  reflected 
in  the  outward  life."     Madcley. 

The    ten    curtains    of  ,^  ...k». 

d\j  cubits 


equal  size,  each  four 
cubits  by  twenty-eight 
cubits,  were  joined  so  as 
to  form  two  sets  of  five 
each,  the  joining  being 
undoubtedly  on  the  sel- 
vedges, thus  making  the 
joined  curtain  twenty  cu- 
bits by  twenty-eight. 

These  two  sets  of  five  each  were  then  united 
by  means  of  loops  of  blue  and  taches  of  gold. 

The  loops  and  their  associated  taches  have 
caused  much  speculation,  and  many  ingenious 
plans  have  been  devised  to  answer  the  require- 
ments ;  but  the  one  which  seems  to  satisfy  the 
demand  better  than  any  other  is,  that  the  loops 
were   such    as  would    be   made    by   stretching    a 


26       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

piece  of  cord  out  and  fastening  the  ends  as  far 
apart  as  possible,  rather  than  the   usual  form   of 
attaching    the  ends  to  the  fabric  close    together. 
Or,  better  still  it  would  seem,  using  a  single  long 
cord,  sewing  tight  and  leaving  a  space  alternately. 
Two  curtains  so  treated  laid  one  upon  the  other, 
and  the  taches  of  the  A.  V.  or  the  clamps  of  the 
R.   V.  inserted    in  the    loops,  the   two  would    be 
closely    united.      These    loops    on    both    curtains 
were  especially  directed  to  be  of  blue,  and  to  be 
fifty  in  number.      Much  time  and  labor  was   spent 
in  efforts  to  make  these  loops  and  taches  fall  into 
some    manifest    order    in     their    relation     to    the 
stripes  of  color  in  the  curtains,  but  not  until  the 
curtains  were  actually  made  in  scale,  the  stripes 
each  a  hand-breadth  wide,  and  the  taches,  each  a 
hand-breadth  in  length,  were  spaced  upon  it,  did 
the   order  appear.      It  is  this  :  the    stripes    being 
one  hand-breadth  in  width,  the  space  between  the 
taches  is  two  and  one-third  stripes,  the  first  in  a 
series  is  a  tache  on  a   blue  stripe,  the  second   is 
two-thirds    blue   and   one   third   red,   the   third   is 
one-third     blue    and    two-thirds    red,    the    fourtli 


Th^  taches 


27 


all  red,  the  fifth  two-thirds  red  and  one-third 
orange,  the  sixth  one-third  red  and  two-thirds 
orange,  the  seventh  all  orange,  the  eighth  two- 
thirds  orange  and  one-third  blue,  the  ninth  one- 
third  orange  and  two-thirds  blue,  the  tenth,  like 
the  first,  all  blue  ;  and  so  through  the  whole 
series :  the  fifty,  with  the  end  fastenings,  exactly 
fining  the  length  of  twenty-eight  cubits,  thus 
confirmino-  the  selection  of  a  hand-breadth  as 
the  width  of  the  stripes. 


THE  TACHES  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  COLORS 

What  the  form  of  the  taches  was  is  not  plainly 
seen.  They  were  attachments  of  the  curtains, 
connecting  the  two  united  sets  of  five  each  so 
closely  that  they  two  were  made  one.  A  search 
in  Egyptian  collections  has  failed  to  show  any 
thino-    more  likely  than  a  spirally-twisted  wire  — 


a  form  used  at  the  time  in  earrings  and  in  some 


28       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 

other  places.  This  form  seems  to  answer  the 
requirements,  and,  in  the  absence  of  anything 
better,  it  is  suggested  as  an  approach  to  the 
tache  of  the  tabernacle. 

As  to  the  place  where  these  curtains  were 
used  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion,  some  hang- 
ing them  about  both  rooms  inside,  some  in  dif- 
ferent ways  both  inside  and  outside  under  the 
goats'-hair  tent.  Apparently  the  only  definite 
instruction  which  bears  on  this  question  is  "and 
thou  shalt  hang  up  the  veil  underneath  the 
taches  "  (Exod.  xxvi.  33).  The  line  of  taches, 
the  joining  of  the  two  curtains,  must  therefore 
be  over  the  bar  or  pillars  supporting  the  veil. 
This  requirement  must  be  closely  kept  in  mind. 
The  fine  texture  and  their  coloring  and  embroid- 
ery seem  to  indicate  that  they  were  an  in-door 
fabric,  and  the  cherubim  upon  them  point  to  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  the  home  of  the  ark  with  its 
mercy-seat  and  cherubim,  as  the  place  where 
they  were  used.  They  formed  the  tabernacle  in 
the  restricted  use  of  that  word,  and  that  room, 
like  the   Oracle   in    the    temple,  was  a  cube  —  its 


POSITION  OF  CURTAINS  20 

length,  its  breadth,  and  its  height  each  ten  cu- 
bits, as  the  Oracle  was  twenty  in  each  measure. 
To  limit  these  curtains  to  these  dimensions  we 
must  double  them.  Nothing  is  said  in  the 
record  about  doubling ;  but,  except  we  do  so, 
there  seems  no  way  of  using  them  not  full  of 
difficult  and  objectionable  features,  such  as  the 
addition  of    poles  not  mentioned  in  the    Word. 

Experiment  with  accurately  proportioned  cur- 
tains in  a  large  model  has  developed  the  plan 
here  shown.  The  veil  being  across  the  room, 
north  and  south,  the  edge  of  this  curtain  with 
the  taches  must  be  in  that  line,  and  the  lengfth 
of  the  curtain  being  twenty-eight  cubits  we  see 
that  it  will,  after  crossing  the  roof  of  ten  cubits, 
descend    on    each  side    nine    cubits,  or  to  within 

one  cubit  of  the  floor.  In 
the  other  direction  the  joined 
and  doubled  curtain  is  twent}- 
cubits  and  starting  one  cubit 
from  the  floor,  as  on  the 
north  and  south  sides  we  have  nine  cubits  on 
the  back,  ten   cubits  on  the  roof,  and    one  cubit 


30 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 


with  the  taches  hano:ino:  over  the  bar  of  the  veil 


pillars.       This     overplus     of 
one  cubit  also  extends  along 


10  cu 


the  sides  against  the  north 
and  south  boards,  and  thus 
the  veil  hung  upon  the  pil- 
lars supporting  the  bar,  will  be  literally  under  the 
taches,  not  only  those  on  the 
top,  but  also  those  on  both 
sides  —  all  of  the  fifty.  No- 
tice, too,  that  the  veil  is  thus 
kept  securely  in  position,  the 
weight  of  the  taches  contributing  to  this  end, 
and  that  there  is  no  danger  of  exposure  of  the 
inner  room  from  the  swaying  of  the  curtain,  as 
might  be  the  case  if  not  so  thoroughly  protected. 
This  seems  to  fully  answer  the  requirements 
named.  The  interior  room  thus  made,  besides 
bcino-  in  the  cubic  form,  resembles  the  Oracle  of 
the  temple,  in  being  a  dark  room,  and  this  seems 
an  essential  point,  whether  viewed  naturally  or 
spiritually. 

l^ut   the   curtain   besides   being   doubled   has   a 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  CURTAINS 


31 


large   surplus   in   the   corners.      How   this   is   dis- 
posed of  is  shown  in  a 

^  9  K  io  ' 


10 


9 


S^iipkis^ 


W(5St 

Ead 


Surplus  : 


Horth 
3  ide 


Roof 


!5outl 
Side 

L 


O 


model.  The  corners  are 
supported  by  poles,  and 
the  surplus  is  draped 
about  them  completely 
hiding  them  and  adding 
greatly  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  room.  And 
here  we  should  notice 
a  feature  which  at  first 

sight  may  seem  to  be  a  blemish,  namely,  that 
the  stripes  are  lengthwise,  or  horizontal  on  the 
sides,  and  perpendicular  on  the  w^est  end  and  in 
the  overhanging  front.  This  necessarily  follows 
from  the  covering  being  in  one  piece ;  but  as 
we  think  of  the  signification  of  lines,  we  see 
that  there  is  a  meaning  in  this  arrangement ;  for 
these  horizontal  lines  running  east  and  west 
have  reference  to  the  love  principle  of  the 
mind,  and  perpendicular  lines,  or  width,  or  dis- 
tance north  and  south,  point  to  degrees  of  wis- 
dom  or  intelligence   in    spiritual   things.      In   the 


\^ 


y 


sa 


OTHER  PLACES  PROPOSED  3^ 

corner  drapery  the  lines  naturally  fall  into  diag- 
onal lines,  and  these  represent  principles  con- 
necting those  shown  by  the  others,  or  such  as  re- 
sult from  their  union  in  thought  and  life.  There 
seems  to  be  no  point  connected  with  this  study 
which  does  not  develop  phases  from  which  spir- 
itual truth  may  be  drawn. 

In  the  scheme  just  presented,  this  set  of  cur- 
tains is  considered  as  having  sole  reference  to 
the  single  inner  room  containing  the  ark  and  its 
holy  treasure,  and  as  in  themselves  forming  the 
tabernacle  in  the  restricted  use  of  the  name,  and 
not  as  forming  a  part  of  the  tent,  as  do  the  goats'- 
hair  curtains  and  its  two  skin-coverings.  But  this 
view  is  not  in  line  with  the  thought  of  some  who 
have  given  this  subject  much  more  attention  than 
we  have,  and  whose  opinions  we  feel  should  be 
presented  for  the  judgment  of  the  reader.  Some 
see  these  rich  curtains  as  an  under  covering  of 
the  goats'-hair  tent,  and  as  being  the  roof  seen 
in  both  of  the  rooms  and  under  the  overhanging 
sides  and  rear  of  the  tent  outside  the  walls  ;  others 
think  they  covered  the   roof  of  both  rooms  and 


34 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 


hung  down  on  the  outside  of  the  gilded  planks  ; 
and  still  others,  that  they  covered  the  inner  walls 
of  both  rooms  as  well  as  the  roof  or  ceiling.  The 
first  and  second  arrangements  leave  the  walls  of 
the  interior  entirely  uncovered  and  make  no  dis- 
crimination between  the  outer  and  the  inner  room 
in  the  matter  of  curtains  :  they  adorn  the  outer 
ceiling  in  the  one  case,  and  the  exterior  walls  in 
the  other,  and  present  structural  difficulties  not 
easy  to  remove.  The  third  plan  would  require 
for  its  fulfilment  a  number  of  poles  along  the 
sides  of  the  rooms,  to  hold  up  the  curtains,  or 
the  mutilation  of  the  walls  themselves  for  that 
purpose.  We  see  no  way  of  adopting  either  of 
the  suggestions  made,  on  account  of  these  and 
other  structural  difficulties,  though  we  must  ad- 
mit that  there  are  expressions  in  the  descriptions, 
and  in  the  authorized  explanations  of  them,  that 
seem  to  support  each  of  the  plans  named. 

There  is  still  a  point  to  be  spoken  of  here  — 
the  cherubim.  These  are  mentioned  in  many 
places  in  the  Word  and  in  various  forms.  They 
were  evidently  purely  representative  figures  and 


THE  CHERUBIM  35 


not  the  image  of  any  living  earthly  creature. 
They  combined  something  of  the  human  with  the 
wino-s  of  the  bird  and  the  feet  of  the  calf;  and 
in  some  the  faces  of  the  lion  and  the  eagle  are 
added  to  those  of  a  man  and  the  cherub.  In 
some  cases  they  had  hands,  in  others  it  is  inferred 
that  they  were  without  them.  All  we  can  do, 
therefore,  is  to  show  something  indefinite,  with 
the  acknowledgment  that  it  is  the  merest  ap- 
proximation  and   without   definite  authority. 

These  remarks  apply  to  the  cherubs  on  the 
mercy-seat  as  well  as  to  those  embroidered  on 
the    tabernacle  curtains. 

We  have  seen  that  the  bottom  of  these  curtains 
on  the  three  sides  of  the  room  are  one  cubit  from 
the  floor,  and  if  these  figures  are  placed  one-half 
cubit  from  their  lower  edge  they  will  be  on  the 
same  level  with  cherubs  on  the  mercy-seat.  As 
to  size,  those  on  the  mercy-seat  must  have  been 
two  cubits  in  height,  with  wings  spreading  two 
cubits  or  one  cubit  each.  This  will  give  two 
pairs  on  each  of  the  four  sides  of  the  room  after 
allowing  for  the  draping  in  the  corners, 


36       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OE  MEETING 

We  see  this  room,  as  described  above,  with  its 
length  and  breadth  and  height  equal,  the  cherubs 
surrounding  it  and  the  three  spaces  on  each  side 
formed  by  them  —  cherubs  on  either  hand  and 
outstretched  wings  meeting  above  —  and  in  it  a 
picture  is  presented  of  the  Holy  City,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God, 
having  the  glory  of  God  .  .  .  and  a  wall  great 
and  high,  and  twelve  gates  ...  on  the  east  three 
gates ;  on  the  north  three  gates ;  on  the  south 
three  gates  ;  and  on  the  west  three  gates.  .  .  . 
And  the  city  lieth  four  square  .  .  .  the  length 
and  the  breadth  and  the  height  of  it  are  equal. 

The  next  curtains  mentioned  are  those  of  goats' 
hair,  described  as  a  covering  for  the  tabernacle 
and  as  a  tent. 

And  thou  shalt  make  curtains  of  goats'  hair  to  be  a  cov- 
ering upon  the  tabernacle  :  eleven  curtains  shalt  thou  make. 
The  length  of  one  curtain  shall  be  thirty  cubits,  and  the 
breadth  of  one  curtain  four  cubits  ;  and  the  eleven  curtains 
shall  be  all  of  one  measure.  And  thou  shalt  couple  five 
curtains  by  themselves,  and  six  curtains  by  themselves,  and 
shalt  double  the  sixth  curtain  in  the  forefront  of  the  tab- 
ernacle. And  thou  shalt  make  fifty  loops  on  the  edge  of 
the  one  curtain  that  is  outermost  in  the  coupling,  and  fifty 


THE  GOATS'-HAIK  TENT 


37 


loops  in  the  edge  of  the  curtain  which  coupleth  the  second. 
And  thou  shalt  make  fifty  taches  of  brass,  and  put  the  taches 
into  the  loops,  and  couple  the  tent  together,  that  it  may  be 
one.  And  the  remnant  that  remaineth  of  the  curtains  of  the 
tent,  the  half  curtain  that  remaineth  shall  hang  over  the 
back  side  of  the  tabernacle.  And  a  cubit  on  the  one  side, 
and  a  cubit  on  the  other  side  of  that  which  remaineth  in 
the  length  of  the  curtains  of  the  tent,  it  shall  hang  over  the 
sides  of  the  tabernacle,  on  this  side  and  on  that  side,  to 
cover  it.     (ExoD.  xxvi.  7-13.) 

The  directions  for  size  and  number  are  plain, 
and  admit  of  no  misconstruction.  Eleven  cur- 
tains, each  thirty  cubits  long  and  four  wide, 
are  first  made  into  two  sets  of  five  and  six,  and 
these  united  by  fifty  brass    taches    make    a    sin- 


1 

2 

4 

5 

1 

z 

3 

4 

5 

je  _ 

4 

1 

he 

(0 

(t) 

0 

1 
3! 

Half  ( 

'urta 

n 

(0 

^'» 

>   1 

Y\ 

VE 

C^ 

rfF 

TAII 

rs 

en 

SIX 

CUH 

TAIl^ 

fS 

>   1 

2 

D  cbbi 

s 

34  cu 

bits 

A^ 

)  ' 

CQ 

-^ 

1   1 

L 

lat 

^ 

t 

<  * 

Hem 

jinet 

I 

u. 

E 

?! 

.! 

:! 

i 

1 

— 1 

10  CU      X 


31  CU. 


^' 


gle    united    tent    covering    thirty    by    forty-four 


38       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

cubits.  One-half  of  the  western  united  curtain 
of  five  is  to  hang  over  the  back  of  the  plank 
wall,  and  one-half  of  the  eleventh  single  cur- 
tain is  to  be  doubled  over  the  other  half  and 
lie,  evenly  divided,  over  the  bar  above  the  door- 
screen    pillars  —  the    forefront    of    the    building. 


z 

4 

■*''''""^5fi.<,  T, 

^'— -2^ 

i,..4^ 

^^5         6 

'" 

K 

<n 

c 

V^ 

»j 

— 

»j 

u 

o 

/■^ 

h 

V 

•— 

(<- 

u 
O 

> 
V 

x: 

a 

1- 

« 
o 

1 

h- 

LONGITUDINAL  SECTION  Showing  Goals  Hair  Tent  Curtains 


This  leaves  seven  and  one-half  curtains  and  one- 
quarter  of  the  doubled  eleventh,  or  thirty-one  cu- 
bits in  all,  to  cover  the  thirty  cubits  of  the  inside 
length  of  the  building  and  the  thickness  of  the 
rear  wall,  thus  admitting  of  an  elevation  of  the 
centre  to  a  height  sufficient  to  shed  water  in  a 
rain  storm.  Thus  we  dispose  of  the  length  of  the 
united  curtains  satisfactorily  ;  but  when  we  come 
to  the  width,  we  arc  met  by  old  ideas  which  seem 
to  restrict  it  to  an  overhanging  on  the  sides,  of 
only  one   cubit  from   the  upper  line  of  the  plank 


THE  OVERHANGING  CUBIT 


39 


wall,  and  so  long  as  that  thought  prevails  we  can 
come  to  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem. 
Every  combination  of  the  curtains  in  fives  and 
sixes  and  elevens  which  could  be  thought  of  has 
been  made  and  tried  on  our  model,  and,  while 
some  answered  in  many  respects,  all  were  most 
unsatisfactory  somewhere,  and  had  to  be  laid  aside 
as  failing  to  give  a  full  answer.  The  plan  finally 
seen  to  be  a  complete  fulfilment  of  the  require- 
ments is  as  follows. 

All  through  these  descriptions  things  are  taken 
as  present  which  have  not  yet  been  spoken  of. 
So  here,  where  reference  is  made  to  a  cubit  on 
each  side  over  or  beyond  the  size  of  something 
else,  reference,  we  think,  is  made  to  the  two  skin 
coverings  which  are  to  lie  upon  it ;  and  from 
this  we  get  one  of  the  dimensions  of  those  cover- 
ings, namely, 
twenty  -  eight 
cubits,  or  two 
cubits  less 
CROSS  SECTIONS  than  the  thir- 

ty   of   the   goats'-hair  tent.     We  have    from    this 


Half  seciion  of 

^ 

y^ 

One  half  West  end 

\k\AA\c^               i"*'^ 

t .  .  .  . 

Mluule.    ^  JT 

V 

Xo 

y 

3 

3 

3 

^« 

yjr 

o 

U 

O 

\.  ^ 

\  cyl   51*  cu 

o 

CO 

O 

6  CO.  rs^cu. 

\ 

AQ       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 

a  resulting  form  for  the  goats'-hair  tent  like  that 
shown  above ;  the  one  cubit  which  is  the  remain- 
der on  each  side,  after  covering  it  by  skins,  is 
seen  to  ''hang  over  the  sides  of  the  tabernacle, 
on  this   side   and  on  that   side   to   cover  it." 

A  confirmation  of  this  plan  is  found  in  the 
study  of  temple  forms  and  the  fixed  relation  of 
dimensions,  etc.,  seen  between  the  two  buildings ; 
for  the  distance  between  the  overhanging  cubit 
of  the  goats'-hair  tent  and  the  planks  is  ex- 
actly one-half  those  of  corresponding  portions  of 
the  temple  —  the  hall  ways  or  passages  surround- 
ing it,  and  the  priests'  chambers  opening  into 
them  —  namely  five  and  one-half  cubits  in  the  mid- 
dle section,  and  six   cubits  in  the  end  sections. 

This  difference  in  the  two  places  is  caused  by 
the  elevation  in  the  centre,  which  requires  twelve 
cubits  between  the  outer  lines  of  the  walls  at 
that  point,  whereas  between  the  same  points  at 
the  ends  there  is  but  ten  and  two-thirds  cubits 
so  taken  up.  To  be  literal,  therefore,  and  make 
the  overhanging  part  of  the  goats'-hair  tent  one 
cubit  throughout  the  whole  length,  the  outer  line 


THE  TENT  OVERHANGING  THE  REAR         ^j 


of  the  curtain  edge  cannot  be  straight,  but  must 
be  slightly  concave  (as  shown  in  the  ground 
plan    of    the  Court,  etc.,  p.  66), 

A  very  interesting  feature  developed  in  this 
arrangement  of  the  goats'-hair  curtains  is  the 
tent  or  living  accommodation  on  the  back  of  the 
western  end  of  the  building.  That  there  was 
something  of  the  kind  connected  with  the  tab- 
ernacle, as  there  certainly  was  with  the  temple, 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Aaron  and  his  sons 
remained  in  the  tabernacle  seven  days  during 
their  consecration,  and  it  is  said  that  Joshua  de- 
parted not  from  the  tabernacle.  Both  of  these 
statements  involve  such  a  place  as  is  furnished 
by  this  tent  in  the  rear  of  the  building,  and  they 
seem  to  confirm  the  correctness  of  the  plan. 

The  remaining  outside  coverings  are  described 
in  few  words,  but  these  contain  much  to  puzzle 
the  investigator.     They  are  : 

And  thou  shalt  make  a  covering  for  the  tent  of  rams' 
skins  dyed  red,  and  a  covering  above  of  badgers'  skins. 
(ExOD.  xxvi.  14.) 

The   order   in  which  these  and  the  others  are 


42 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OE  MEETING 


mentioned  is  always  the  same,  proceeding  from 
the  inside  outward  —  i,  the  tabernacle;  2,  the 
goats'-hair  tent ;  3,  the  rams'  skins  ;  and  4,  those 
called  badgers'  skins  ;  and  these  skins  are  said  to 
be  a  covering  above  the  others,  and  there  con- 
sequently they  must  go. 

As  to  the  size  of  these  skin  coverings,  it  has 
been  remarked  that  they  were  two  cubits  smaller 
than  the  goats'-hair  tent,  or  twenty-eight  cubits 
in  their  north  and  south  dimensions.  East  and 
west  we  may  assume  that  they  extended  over 
the  entrance  and  the  rear  wall  about  as  much 
as  over  the  sides. 

Did  these  skins  have  hair  upon  them,  or  were 
they  dressed  like  leather }  The  same  Hebrew 
word  is  used  for  skins  as  taken  from  the  animal, 
and  for  those  dressed  for  clothing  or  for  bottles, 
and  we  get  no  light  there  except  as  we  learn 
that  the  root  word  signifies  something  bare, 
smooth,  or  naked.  We  are  justified,  therefore, 
in  deciding  that  these  skins  were  leather  and 
without  the  hair.  The  lower  of  the  two  cover- 
ings then,  in  this  light,  is  of  rams'  skins  or  leather 


THE  BADGERS'  SKINS 


43 


dyed  Red.  What  shall  we  say  of  those  called 
badgers'  skins  ?  Scholars  have  examined  this 
matter  from  all  sides.  Certainly  there  are  no 
wild  animals  in  the  Mount  Sinai  peninsula  now, 
nor  have  we  evidence  of  there  having  been  at 
the  time  of  the  Exodus,  whose  skins  would  an- 
swer the  demand.  The  Revised  version  gives 
the  name  "  Seal  "  skins,  and  in  the  margin  "  Por- 
poise " ;  but  neither  of  these  seems  to  fit  the 
case,  and,  if  this  were  different,  the  use  of  the 
skins  of  an  unclean  animal  in  such  a  relation  to 
this  Holy  building  seems  unlikely,  if  not  en- 
tirely inadmissible.  We  get  some  light  on  the 
subject  by  noticing  that  the  innermost  curtains 
are  essentially  a  sheep  product  —  wool  ;  the  next 
are  a  goat  product  —  goats' -hair  cloth;  the 
third  are  again  sheep  —  rams'  skins  dyed  red ; 
and  analogy  suggests  that  the  fourth  was  of 
goat  or  kid  skins.  They  certainly  were  some- 
thing which  was  in  the  houses  (tents)  of  the 
people,  like  the  shittim-wood,  the  gold,  silver, 
and  copper,  the  dye  stuffs,  the  wool  and  goats' 
hair,  the  spices,  the  oil,  and    the  precious  stones. 


44       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OE  MEETING 

They  were  not  sent  for  from  a  distance ;  they 
were  with  them  and  a  part  of  the  offerings 
brought  in  answer  to  the  call  of  Moses  (see 
ExoD.  XXXV.  23).  Further,  in  the  Septuagint 
the  passage  reads,  "  Rams'  skins  dyed  red  and 
hyacinth;"  not  an  animal  but  a  skin  colored  the 
peculiar  blue  before  spoken  of,  as  the  others  are 
colored  red.  And  Josephus,  perhaps  an  authority 
of  little  value  here,  though  he  may  have  been 
taught  by  traditions  since  lost,  says  of  them, 
"viewed  ...  at  a  distance  .  .  .  they  seemed 
not  at  all  to  differ  from  the  color  of  the  sky." 
(Book  III.  Chap.  vi.  4.) 

A  correspondent,  well  qualified  to  speak  on 
the  subject,  suggested  that  the  two  skin  cover- 
ings were  of  equal  value  and  that  neither  cov- 
ered the  entire  building  ;  but  that  one  was  over 
the  holy  place,  and  the  other  over  the  most  holy, 
illustrating  the  thought  both  from  nature  and 
from  the  correspondences  indicated  by  the  colors 
and  the  materials  themselves.  The  suggestion 
is  given  here  that  it  may  be  thought  of,  and 
perhaps  lead  to  a  determination  of  an  interesting 
point. 


IV. 


THE    FURNITURE. 


The  descriptions  of  size  and  materials  of  the 
several  articles  are  simple  and  precise.  Still  the 
effort  to  make  of  them  something  ornamental 
and  elaborate  in  beautiful  details,  according  to 
our  modern  standards,  has  led  many  illustrators 
to  add  features  not  supplied  in  the  narrative. 
The  pictures  here  presented  are,  in  the  main, 
those  developed  by  Rev.    Dr.   Paine.     They    are 


45 


46 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 


severely    simple    in    their  forms ;     but    better    so 
than  add  items  purely  of  the  fancy. 

THE   ARK    AND    THE    MERCY-SEAT. 

And  they  shall  make  an  ark  of  shittim  wood :  two  cubits 
and  a  half  shall  be  the  length  thereof,  and  a  cubit  and  a 
half  the  breadth  thereof,  and  a  cubit  and  a  half  the  height 
thereof.  And  thou  shalt  overlay  it  with  pure  gold,  within 
and  without  shalt  thou  overlay  it,  and  shalt  make  upon  it  a 
crown  of  gold  round  about.  And  thou  shalt  cast  four  rings 
of  gold  for  it,  and  put  them  in  the  four  corners  thereof; 
and  two  rings  shall  be  in  the  one  side  of  it,  and  two  rings 
in  the  other  side  of  it.  And  thou  shalt  make  staves  of 
shittim  wood,  and  overlay  them  with  gold.  And  thou  shalt 
put  the  staves  into  the  rings  by  the  sides  of  the  ark,  that 
the  ark  may  be  borne  with  them.  The  staves  shall  be  in 
the  rings  of  the  ark :  they  shall  not  be  taken  from  it.  And 
thou  shalt  put  into  the  ark  the  testimony  which  1  sliall  give 
thee.     (ExoD.  XXV.  10-16.) 

This  gold-covered  wooden  chest  or  box,  with 
its  covering  mercy-seat  of  gold,  was  made  to  en- 
close and  protect  the  tables  of  stone  —  the  testi- 
mony —  to  be  given  to  Moses  ;  and  because  of 
the  presence  of  these  it  was  the  essential  and 
most  holy  thing  connected  with  the  tabernacle. 
It  was  the  sole  occupant  of  the  richly-curtained 
Holy  of   Holies  —  the   cubic  room,  occupying   the 


THE  ARK 


47 


western  end  of  the  building  —  and  about  it  the 
Divine  Presence  manifested  itself  visibly,  not  only 
to  Moses  and  Aaron,  but  to  the  whole  consfreofa- 
tion  of  Israel. 

There  are  some  things  to  be  particularly  noted 
respecting  the  Ark.     The  size  is  precisely  stated 
—  in  our  measure  forty-five   inches  long,  twenty- 
seven  inches  wide,  and  twenty-seven  inches  high. 
The  crown,  or  border,  about  its  upper  edge  seems 
to  have  been,  in  part  at  least,  for  the  purpose   of 
retaining  the    cover,  the  mercy-seat,   in   its  place. 
The  rings  on  the  sides  for  the  bars  or  staves  were 
of  gold,  and  the  staves  themselves,  wood  in  body, 
were  covered  with  gold.     These  staves  were  not 
to  be  withdrawn,  as  were  those  of  the  other  arti- 
cles  in   the  eastern  room,  but  were   to  remain  in 
the  rings,  and  yet  in  Numb.  iv.  6,  where  the  mov- 
ing of  the  camp   is   described,  it   is   directed  that 
the  staves  should  be  put   in  the  Ark.      How  put 
in  if  not  previously  removed  ?     In  the  temple  the 
staves  of   the  Ark  were   drawn   out,  not   entirely, 
but   enough  for   their   presence    and   place   to   be 
seen  in  the  outer  room  (i  Kings  viii.  8),  and  so 


43 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 


they  probably  were  here.  They  were  drawn  for- 
ward so  as  to  push  out  the  veil  and  make  their 
position  known  ;  and  this  shows  that  all  the  illus- 
trations or  ground  plans  of  the  tabernacle  which 
place  the  Ark  across  the  Holy  of  Holies  —  on  a 
north  and  south  line  —  are  in  error.  We  know 
of  no  single  one  which  is  correct  in  this  respect. 
It  should  be  placed  on  the  central  east  and  west 
line  of  the  axis  of  the  building. 

And  thou  shalt  make  a  mercy-seat  of  pure  gold  :  two  cu- 
bits and  a  half  shall  be  the  length  thereof,  and  a  cubit  and 
a  half  the  breadth  thereof.  And  thou  shalt  make  two  cher- 
ubim of  gold,  of  beaten  work  shalt  thou  make  them,  in  the 
two  ends  of  the  mercy-seat.  And  make  one  cherub  on  the 
one  end,  and  the  other  cherub  on  the  other  end  :  even  of 
the  mercy-seat  shall  ye  make  the  cherubim  on  the  two  ends 
thereof.  And  the  cherubim  shall  stretch  forth  their  wings 
on  high,  covering  the  mercy-seat  with  their  wings,  and  their 
faces  shall  look  one  to  another;  towards  the  mercy-seat 
shall  the  faces  of  the  cherubim  be.  And  thou  shalt  put  the 
mercy-seat  above  upon  the  ark  ;  and  in  the  ark  thou  shalt 
put  the  testimony  that  I  shall  give  thee.  And  there  I  will 
meet  with  thee,  and  I  will  commune  with  thee  from  above 
the  mercy-seat,  from  between  the  two  cherubim  which  are 
upon  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  of  all  things  which  I  will 
give  thee  in  commandment  unto  the  children  of  Israel. 
(EXOD.  XXV.  17-22.) 

The  mercy-seat  was  not  of  wood  like  the  body 


THE  MERCY-SEAT  AND   THE  CHERUBIM       ^q 


of  the  Ark,  but  of  pure  gold,  and  upon  it  stood 
the  two  cherubs  with  outstretched  wings.  These 
cherubs  must  have  been  a  Httle  removed  inwards 
from  the  edge  and  so,  probably,  just  two  cubits 
apart  at  their  feet.  This  would  make  the  wings 
each  one  cubit  long,  or  with  a  spread  of  two  cu- 
bits ;  and  if  of  an  approach  to  human  proportions 
they  would  stand  about  two  cubits  in  height  as 
figured  in  the  illustration.  The  form  of  these 
cherubim  has  been  spoken  of  in  connection  with 
the  tabernacle  curtains. 

Possibly  both  the  wings  of  the  cherubim  and 
the  figures  themselves  should  have  been  drawn  in 
our  illustration  more  in  the  style  of  the  Egyptian 
cherubs  ;  that  is,  with  their  conventional  form  of 
wings  rather  than  with  those  of  birds,  and  the 
figures  less  human  in  form ;  but  being  understood 
to  be  purely  imaginary  it  is  probably  of  little  con- 
sequence how  they  are  made. 

Within  the  Ark  were  deposited  the  two  tables 
of  stone  on  which  were  written  the  Command- 
ments, and  nothing  else.  The  pot  of  manna  and 
Aaron's  rod    have   been   thought   of   by  some   as 


^O       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETEKG 

being  within  the  Ark,  and  by  others  as  being  be- 
side it  in  the  same  room.  These  two  articles 
were  to  be  laid  before  the  testimony  (Exod.  xvi. 
34  :  Numb.  xvii.  lo),  by  which  we  understand  that 
they  were,  like  the  altar  of  incense,  in  the  outer 
room  just  before  the  veil,  perhaps  between  it  and 
the  altar. 

THE   ALTAR   OF   INCENSE. 


And  thou  shalt  make  an  altar  to  burn  incense  upon  :  of 
shittim  wood  shalt  thou  make  it.  A  cubit  shall  be  the  length 
thereof,  and  a  cubit  the  breadth  thereof  ;  four  square  shall 
it  be,  and  two  cubits  shall  be  the  height  thereof :  the  horns 
thereof  shall  be  of  the  same.  And  tliou  shalt  overlay  it  with 
pure  gold,  the  top  thereof,  and  the  sides  thereof  round  about, 
and  the  horns  thereof ;  and  thou  shalt  make  unto  it  a  crown 
of  gold  round  about.  And  two  golden  rings  shalt  thou  make 
to  it  under  the  crown  of  it,  by  tlie  two  corners  thereof,  upon 
tlie  two  sides  of  it  shalt  thou  make  it ;  and  tliey  shall  be  for 
places  for  the  staves  to  bear  it  withal.  And  thou  shalt  make 
the  staves  of  sliittim  wood,  and  overlay  them  with  gold.  And 
thou  shalt  put  it  before  the  veil   that  is   by  the  ark   of  the 


THE  ALTAR  OF  INCENSE 


51 


testimony,  before  the  mercy-seat  that  is  over  the  testimony 
where  I  will  meet  with  thee.  And  Aaron  shall  burn  thereon 
sweet  incense  every  morning :  when  he  dresseth  the  lamps, 
he  shall  burn  incense  upon  it.  And  when  Aaron  lighteth 
the  lamps  at  even,  he  shall  burn  incense  upon  it,  a  perpetual 
incense  before  the  Lord,  throughout  your  generations.  Ye 
shall  offer  no  strange  incense  thereon,  nor  burnt  sacrifice,  nor 
meat  offering :  neither  shall  ye  pour  drink  offering  thereon. 
And  Aaron  shall  make  an  atonement  upon  the  horns  of  it 
once  in  a  year  with  the  blood  of  the  sin  offering  of  atone- 
ments ;  once  in  the  year  shall  he  make  atonement  upon  it 
throughout  your  generations :  it  is  most  holy  unto  the  Lord. 
(ExoD.  XXX.  I -10.) 

Though  not  spoken  of  till  after  the  table  and 
lamp-stand,  and  the  garments  of  Aaron  and  his 
sons,  with  directions  for  their  installation  into 
their  priestly  ofhce,  the  position  of  the  golden 
altar  of  incense  in  the  room  makes  it  proper  to 
treat  of  it  here.  The  form  and  size  are  so  mi- 
nutely described  that  nothing  need  be  said  of 
them. 

It  is  commonly  placed  nearer  the  door  screen 
or  curtain  than  either  the  table  or  the  lamp-stand  ; 
but  this  seems  to  us  wrong.  We  think  it  was, 
as  shown  in  the  ground  plan  and  section  of  the 
tabernacle,  immediately  before  the  veil  and  near 


52 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 


the  projecting  staves  of  the  ark.  This  is  an  in- 
ference here,  but  in  the  temj^le  we  know  it  was 
so  placed  and  the  reasons  governing  there  apply 
here,  or  rather,  it  was  so  situated  there  because 
it  was  so  here. 

THE   TABLE. 


Thou  shalt  also  make  a  table  of  shittim  wood";  two  cubits 
shall  be  the  length  thereof,  and  a  cubit  the  breadth  thereof, 
and  a  cubit  and  a  half  the  height  thereof.  And  thou  shalt 
overlay  it  with  pure  gold,  and  make  thereto  a  crown  of  gold 
round  about.  And  thou  shalt  make  unto  it  a  border  of 
a  handbreadth  round  about,  and  thou  shalt  make  a  golden 
crown  to  the  border  thereof  round  about.  And  thou  shalt 
make  for  it  four  rings  of  gold  and  put  the  rings  in  the  four 
corners  that  are  on  the  four  feet  thereof.  Over  against  the 
border  shall  the  rings  be  for  places  of  the  staves  to  bear  the 
table.  And  thou  shalt  make  the  staves  of  shittim  wood,  and 
overlay  them  with  gold,  that  the  table  may  be  borne  with 
them.  And  thou  shalt  make  the  dishes  thereof,  and  spoons 
thereof,  and  covers  thereof,  and  bowls  thereof,  to  cover 
withal :  of  pure  gold  shalt  thou  make  them.  And  thou  shalt 
set  upon  the  table  shew-bread  before  me  always.  (Exod. 
XXV.  23-30.) 


THE  TABLE 


53 


The  dimensions  of  the  table  and  other  partic- 
ulars are  given,  but  nothing  is  said  of  ornamen- 
tation. It  is  therefore  unwise  to  draw  forms  with 
carving  on  sides  or  legs  or  feet  as  is  often  done. 
The  vessels  upon  the  table  were  of  at  least  four 
kinds.  This  is  imperfectly  expressed  in  our 
translation,  but  Dr.  Paine  in  his  *'  Holy  Houses  " 
shows  them  to  have  been  Oil  jars,  Incense  cups, 
Libation  tankards,  and  Libation  cups.  These 
were  all  of  pure  gold.  In  the  same  work  it  is 
also  proved  from  many  sources  that  the  bread  — 
"face  bread"  —  was  disposed  on  the  table  in 
two  rows  of  six  each,  rather  than  in  two  piles 
of  six  as  frequently  represented. 

THE   LAMP-STAND   OR  CANDLESTICK. 


And   thou   shalt  make  a  candlestick   of  pure   gold :   of 


54       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

beaten  work  shall  the  candlestick  be  made :  his  shaft  and 
his  branches,  his  bowls,  his  knops,  and  his  flowers,  shall  be 
of  the  same.  And  six  branches  shall  come  out  of  the  sides 
of  it,  three  branches  of  the  candlestick  out  of  the  one  side, 
and  three  branches  of  the  candlestick  out  of  the  other  side. 
Three  bowls  made  like  unto  almonds,  with  a  knop  and  a 
flower  in  one  branch  :  and  three  bowls  made  like  almonds 
in  the  other  branch  with  a  knop  and  a  flower :  so  in  the  six 
branches  that  come  out  of  the  candlestick.  And  in  the 
candlestick  sliall  be  four  bowls  made  like  unto  almonds 
with  their  knops  and  their  flowers.  And  there  shall  be  a 
knop  under  two  branches  of  the  same,  and  a  knop  under 
two  branches  of  the  same,  and  a  knop  under  two  branches 
of  the  same,  according  to  the  six  branches  that  proceed  out 
of  the  candlestick.  Their  knops  and  their  branches  shall  be 
of  the  same  :  all  of  it  shall  be  one  beaten  work  of  pure  gold. 
And  thou  shalt  make  the  seven  lamps  thereof;  and  they 
shall  light  the  lamps  thereof,  that  they  may  give  light  over 
against  it.  And  the  tongs  thereof,  and  the  snuff-dishes 
thereof,  shall  be  of  pure  gold.  Of  a  talent  of  pure  gold 
shall  he  make  it,  with  all  these  vessels.     (Exod.  xxv.  31-39.) 

Not  one  of  the  many  items  in  the  above  de- 
scription is  so  clearly  stated  that,  with  our  present 
knowledge,  it  can  be  surely  delineated,  and  there 
are  other  points  not  touched  on  at  all.  We  do 
not  know  its  size,  though  we  may  approximate  to 
it  by  knowing  that,  including  the  "snuffers  "  and 
''snuff-dishes  "  belonging  to  it,  it  weighed  a  talent 
of  pure  gold,  about   ninety-six  pounds^  which  in 


THE  LAMP-STAND 


55 


bulk  is  equal  to  about  thirty-eight  pounds  of  iron. 
It  was  not,  therefore,  very  large  —  not  over  three 
cubits  (four  and  a  half  feet),  perhaps  not  more 
than  two  and  a  half,  in  height,  with  a  spread 
of   the   longest  branches  of    possibly   two   cubits. 

In  the  R.  V.  "  its  base  "  is  mentioned,  but 
nothing  is  said  of  this  in  the  A.  V.  We  have 
no  illustration  of  such  a  lamp-stand  in  any  of 
the  Egyptian  pictures  or  sculpture,  indeed  there 
is  nothing  in  early  Egyptian  remains  which  can 
certainly  be  identified  with  lamp  uses  of  any 
kind,  so  that  whatever  illustration  we  make  is 
purely  conjectural. 

The  shaft,  the  branches,  and  other  parts  are 
called  "beaten  work"  and  in  the  margin  "turned 
work,"  the  Hebrew  term  being  that  applied  to 
the  making  of  the  cherubim,  trumpets,  and  sim- 
ilar articles.  This  implies  that  it  was  not  solid 
or  cast,  and  that  in  form  its  parts  were  round 
and  not  angular.  The  base  may  have  been  in 
the  form  of  feet,  as  are  nearly  all  the  ancient 
high  lampstands  of  w^hich  we  have  examples,  but 
it  seems  more  probable  that  it  was  circular  as' 
delineated  above. 


56 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TEXT  OF  MEETING 


The  usual  illustrations  are  copied  from  the 
carving  on  Titus's  triumphal  arch  in  Rome,  but 
this,  if  true  to  the  article  represented,  does  not 
bear  on  the  one  we  are  considering.  Dr.  Paine, 
from  a  close  study  of  the  terms  used,  thinks  the 
arms  were  straight,  reed-like,  and  at  right  angles 
to  the  shaft,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  On 
the  central  member,  under  each  projecting  arm, 
there  was  a  knop  or  ball.  The  lamp  holders  are 
called    **  flowers" — possibly    calyx   would    be    a 

more  accurate  translation  — 
and  the  knop  under  this 
would  correspond  to  a  seed- 
vessel,  or  capsule.  For  the 
lamps  we  have  no  model. 
They  are  spoken  of  as  seven 
in  number,  and  yet  there 
were  three  almond-shaped 
bowls  or  cups,  either  united 
or  separate,  in  the  flowers 
above  the  knops.  A  form 
which  seems  to  fulfil  the  re- 
quirements is  a  triple  lamp  — 


TRIPLE     LAMP 


FLOWER 


THREE    BOWLS 

OR    CUPS 

ONE    LAMP 


LOCATION  OF  THE  FURNITURE 


57 


a  single  oil  receptacle  formed  of  three  united  al- 
mond-shaped vessels,  each  with  a  wick.  The 
six  arms  were  thus  furnished,  but  the  central 
shaft  supported  a  similar  lamp  with  four  lights. 
It  was  placed  on  the  south  side  of  the  outer 
room,  opposite  the  table.  Josephus  says  it  was 
not  in  a  line  parallel  with  the  side  wall,  but  fac- 
ing the  east  and  south,  or  diagonally,  but  we  see 
serious  objections  to  the  adoption  of  this  view. 

In  the  Ground  Plan  of  the  Tabernacle  on  the 
following  page,  the  position  occupied  by  the  sev- 
eral articles  just  described  is  plainly  seen.  The 
front  half  of  the  Holy  Place  is  empty,  the  rear 
half  contains  the  table,  the  lamp-stand,  and  the 
altar  of  incense,  the  latter  placed  directly  in 
front  of  the  veil  and  near  the  projecting  bars  of 
the  ark  of  the  testimony.  The  ark  is  in  the 
centre  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  and  is  placed  in 
the  axis  of  the  building,  as  are  also  the  table 
and  the  lamp-stand,  instead  of  across  the  rooms 
as  is  commonly  shown,  and  this  for  reasons  stated 
elsewhere.  This  diagram  also  shows  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  planks  and  of  their  tenons  and  socket 
blocks. 


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THE  ALTAR  OF  BURNT  OFFER  IN  6  59 


THE    ALTAR   OF   BURNT    OFFERING. 


And  thou  shalt  make  an  altar  of  shittim  wood,  five  cubits 
long,  and  five  cubits  broad;  the  altar  shall  be  four  square, 
and  the  height  thereof  shall  be  three  cubits.  And  thou 
shalt  make  the  horns  of  it  upon  the  four  corners  thereof; 
his  horns  shall  be  of  the  same  :  and  thou  shalt  overlay  it 
with  brass.  And  thou  shalt  make  his  pans  to  receive  his 
ashes,  and  his  shovels,  and  his  basins,  and  his  flesh-hooks, 
and  his  fire-pans ;  all  the  vessels  thereof  thou  shalt  make  of 
brass.  And  thou  shalt  make  for  it  a  grate  of  network  of 
brass ;  and  upon  the  net  shalt  thou  make  four  brazen  rings 
in  the  four  corners  thereof.  And  thou  shalt  put  it  under 
the  compass  of  the  altar  beneath,  that  the  net  may  be  even 
to  the  midst  of  the  altar.  And  thou  shalt  make  staves  for 
the  altar,  staves  of  shittim  wood,  and  overlay  them  with 
brass.  And  the  staves  shall  be  put  into  the  rings,  and  the 
staves  shall  be  upon  the  two  sides  of  the  altar,  to  bear  it. 
Hollow  with  boards  shalt  thou  make  it :  as  it  was  shewed 
thee  in  the  mount,  so  shall  they  make  it.  (Exod.  xxvii. 
1-8.) 


6o       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

This,  the  largest  of  all  the  articles  connected 
with  the  ritual,  was  placed  in  the  court  east  of 
the  tabernacle,  and  between  that  building  and 
the  court  gate.  It  stood  upon  a  mound  of  earth 
so  that  the  officiating  priest  was  visible  to  those 
at  a  distance  outside  the  court  curtain  wall.  It 
was  a  box  frame  without  top  or  bottom,  and  was 
covered  with  brass  (copper).  At  each  of  its  four 
upper  corners  there  was  a  projection  called  a 
horn,  though  this  was  not  necessarily  the  form, 
which  may  have  been  more  like  those  of  the 
temple,  a  cube.  Probably  the  lower  corners  were 
raised  a  little  above  the  ground,  so  that  a  current 
of  air  might  pass  through  the  grate  and  create 
a  draft  facilitating  combustion.  Midway  of  its 
height  there  was  a  grating,  seen  in  the  picture 
partly  withdrawn,  or  not  wholly  in  its  place. 

When  in  transit  the  utensils  connected  with 
the  sacrifices  were  packed  in  the  space  above  the 
grating,  wrapped  in  a  cloth  of  crimson  (purple) 
and  the  whole  was  protected  by  a  covering  of 
so-called   "  badgers'  "  skins. 

The   altar   did    not    retain    its   first    appearance 


THE  LA  VER  6 1 


for  many  years.  After  the  rebellion  of  Korah 
and  his  associates,  their  two  hundred  and  fifty 
copper  censers  were  flattened  out  and  nailed  on 
the  outer  surface  of  the  altar,  thus  testifying  to 
the  sacredness  of  the  priestly  office  and  of  the 
articles  used  in  the  service,  and  the  sin  of  pro- 
faning either.     (Num.  xvi.  38-40.) 

THE   LAYER. 


No  specifications  are  given  of  the  size  or  form 
of  the  laver.  It  was  to  be  of  brass  (copper)  and 
it  was  to  be  placed  between  the  altar  and  the 
tabernacle,  the  instruction  being,  "  And  thou  shalt 
set  the  laver  between  the  tent  of  the  confrreo:a- 
tion  and  the  altar,"  without  specifying  the  exact 
relation,   which   may   have    been   immediately   be- 


(j2     the  sanctuary  or  tent  of  meeting 

hind  the  altar  as  shown  in  the  ground  plan  of 
the  court,  p.  66,  or  somewhat  to  the  southward,  as 
with  the  laver  of  the  temple,     (i  Kings  vii.  39.) 

The  material  of  which  it  was  made  was  con- 
tributed by  the  women,  who  gave  their  bronze 
looking-glasses  for  that  purpose. 

The  shape  delineated  here  is  purely  imaginary, 
though  based  on  an  ancient  form  which  seemed 
appropriate  and  possible.  It  contained  water  for 
washing  hands  and  feet  during  the  ceremonials 
of  the  service. 

For  purposes  of  comparison  all  the  illustra- 
tions of  tabernacle  furniture  are  drawn  upon  the 
same  scale. 


V. 

THE    COURT   AND    ITS    WALLS. 


And  thou  shalt  make  the  court  of  the  tabernacle ;  for  the 
south  side  southward  there  shall  be  hangings  for  the  court 
of  fine-twined  linen  of  a  hundred  cubits  long  for  one  side. 
And  the  twenty  pillars  thereof  and  their  twenty  sockets  shall 
be  of  brass  ;  the  hooks  of  the  pillars  and  their  fillets  shall 
be  of  silver.  And  likewise  for  the  north  side  in  length 
there  shall  be  hangings  of  a  hundred  cubits  long,  and  his 
twenty  pillars  and  their  twenty  sockets  of  brass ;  the  hooks 
of  the  pillars  and  their  fillets  of  silver. 

And  for  the  breadth  of  the  court  on  the  west  side  shall 
be  hangings  of  fifty  cubits  ;  their  pillars  ten,  and  their  sockets 
ten.  And  the  breadth  of  the  court  on  the  east  side  east- 
ward shall  be  fifty  cubits.  The  hangings  of  one  side  of  the 
gate  shall  be  fifteen  cubits  :  their  pillars  three  and  their 
sockets  three.  And  on  the  other  side  shall  be  hangings 
fifteen  cubits  :  their  pillars  three,  and  their  sockets  three. 

And  for  the  gate  of  the  court  shall  be  a  hanging  of  twenty 
cubits  of  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine-twined  linen, 
wrought  with  needle  work ;  and  their  pillars  shall  be  four, 
and  their  sockets  four.  All  the  pillars  round  about  the 
court  shall  be  filleted  with  silver ;  their  hooks  shall  be  of 
silver,  and  their  sockets  of  brass. 

03 


64       THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 

The  length  of  the  court  shall  be  a  hundred  cubits,  and 
the  breadth  fifty  everywhere,  and  the  height  five  cubits  of 
fine-twined  linen,  and  their  sockets  of  brass.  All  the  vessels 
of  the  tabernacle  in  all  the  service  thereof,  and  all  the  pins 
thereof,  and  all  the  pins  of  the  court,  shall  be  of  brass. 
(ExoD.  xxvii.  9-19.) 

Every  feature  of  the  tabernacle  description  has 
its  own  peculiar  difficulties  to  be  solved.  Here 
the  one  of  spacing  the  pillars  so  that  they  will 
give  even  distances  is  presented  —  such  regularity 
of  proportion  as  is  present  everywhere  in  and 
about  the  structure.  To  put  twenty  pillars  on 
the  side,  one  in  each  corner  and  eighteen  be- 
tween, gives  us  but  nineteen  spaces  of  5  ^ 
cubits  each  —  an  odd  number  which  appears  at 
once  to  be  unlikely  ;  and,  the  corners  being  al- 
ready occupied,  to  put  ten  between  them  on  the 
west  end  makes  eleven  spaces  of  the  fifty  cubits, 
or  4  XT  cubits  each,  which  also  seems  objec- 
tionable. 

Difficulties  appear  in  the  eastern  end  of  the 
enclosure  also,  but  by  a  study  of  the  problem 
and  a  little  ingenuity  we  think  all  these  may  be 
made  to  disappear,  and  the  absolute  accuracy  of 
the  description  brought  into  view. 


THE  COURT  PILLARS 


65 


As  with  some  other  things  in  the  description, 
we  can  best  approach  this  subject  in  an  order 
different  from  that  given  in  the  record,  namely, 
by  taking  the  east  end  first,  and  adding  the 
others  to  it. 

In  the  east  end  we  have  three  divisions  :  two 
curtains  each  of  fifteen  cubits  and  three  pillars, 
and  one  gate  opening  between  these,  closed  by 
twenty  cubits  of  hangings  similar  to  the  door 
screen  —  of  linen,  blue,  purple,  and  scarlet.  Tak- 
ing the  first  as  our  initials,  and  putting  a  post 
in  each  of  the  eastern  corners,  proceed  toward 
the  centre,  north  and  south  with  the  three  pil- 
lars, placing  them  five  cubits  apart.  Then  add 
to  each  series  one  of  the  gate  posts,  also  five 
cubits  from  the  adjoining  pillar,  and  we  have 
support  for  the  two  wings  —  three  spaces  of  five 
cubits  each  =  fifteen  cubits.  The  gate  must  now 
be  put  in.  This  is  twenty  cubits,  with  four  pil- 
lars, two  of  which  we  have  already  used.  Four 
pillars  give  but  three  spaces,  and  20  -^  3  pro- 
duces just  the  kind  of  fractional  result  we  dep- 
recate.     But    just    here   we   note   that   Josephus 


Oil 


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66 


THE  COURT  GATE 


67 


says  these  were  arranged  *'  after  the  resemblance 
of  open  gates,"  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  sacred 
description  which  contradicts  this.  Indeed  when 
we  remember  the  timidity  of  cattle  and  the  very 
great  difificulty  of  driving  them  into  a  strange 
enclosure  under  an  overhanging  entrance  way, 
especially  one  so  low  as  five  cubits,  we  can  re- 
cognize the  probability  at  least,  of  some  arrange- 
ment which  would  remove  this  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. The  very  term  "gate,"  rather  than  ''door," 
suggests  a  plan  such  as  here  proposed,  namely, 
placing  the  two  remaining  posts  each  five  cubits 
from  one  of  those  already  set,  thus  leaving  a 
central  space  of  ten  cubits  for  the  main  gate. 
The  hanging  for  this  gateway  is  apparently  a 
single  curtain  of  twenty  cubits  covering  the  en- 
tire space,  and  if  we  follow  the  specifications 
literally,  as  we  now  understand  them,  we  must 
open  the  gate  for  the  larger  animals  by  folding 
fifteen  cubits  back  over  a  corresponding  length 
on  one  side  :  p-^  ^^  o^  » ^  •  ,q  u^  «^  u^  ^ ^  i^  ;  but  if 
there  were  two  curtains  of  ten  cubits  each,  the 
gateway  could  have  been  opened  by  folding  them 


68       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

back  thus  :  p — □ — o — ^^         f=v — o — o — q  ,  or  on   oc- 

(5       5       &       5  to  5       5       5;5V 

casion  the  whole  twenty  cubits  could  have  been 
uncovered.  When  closed  at  night,  or  at  other 
times,  a  bar  of  double  length  —  ten  cubits  —  would 
be  required  between  the  posts  of  the  central 
opening  and  the  curtain  hung  therefrom. 

Having  the  east  end  fixed  as  a  base,  we  can 
add  our  twenty  pillars  on  each  side,  with  their 
twenty  spaces  of  five  cubits  each,  and  thus  com- 
plete the  sides  harmoniously  and  without  diffi- 
culty. 

The  western  end,  if  the  ten  pillars  are  equally 
spaced  between  the  two  corner  posts  already 
planted,  shows  eleven  spaces  of  4  j\  cubits 
each.  But  we  have  in  the  tabernacle  walls  a  sug- 
gestion of  another  possible  plan  which,  adopted 
here,  removes  all  difficulty.  It  is  to  make  the 
two  end-spaces  two  and  a  half  cubits  each,  and 
the  others  five ;  or  in  other  words  to  put  the 
pillars  in  the  middle  of  each  five-cubit  space. 

Thus  we  accomplish  the  equal  division  of 
spaces,  and  secure  a  regularity  desirable  in  it- 
self and  in  harmony  with  details  everywhere 
present  in  tabernacle  measurements. 


COURT  PILLARS  AND  CURTAINS 


69 


From  the  standpoint  of  spiritual  interpretation 
no  change  in  the  order  of  statement  can  be  thought 
of ;  but  here,  as  in  other  places,  it  is  allowable  to 
treat  the  natural  side  of  the  narrative  in  a  way 
that  will  bring  out  clearly  the  features  which  con- 
tain the  spiritual,  and  with  the  true  arrangement 
of  these  court  pillars  in  mind  we  can  return  to 
the  order  in  which  they  are  given  us  in  the  Word 
and  find  that  they  come  into  place  naturally. 
There  we  have  as  the  first  and  essential  thing 
the  hanging  or  curtain  of  one  hundred  cubits 
belonging  to  the  south  side.  The  east  end  being 
understood  as  in  position  though  not  yet  spoken 
of,  we  place  the  first  of  the  twenty  pillars  belong- 
ing to  this  south  side  five  cubits  west  from  the 
south-eastern  corner,  and  the  others  at  equal  dis- 
tances of  five  cubits,  thus  making  twenty  equal 
spaces.  The  north  side  we  must  treat  in  exactly 
the  same  manner  and  thus  complete  the  two  sides. 
The  west  end  follows  as  before  described,  and 
lastly  we  put  in  the  eastern  end  with  its  gate 
spaces  and  wings. 

We   must  remember  that  these  pillars  were   in 


JO      THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 


charge  of  a  different  family  of  Levites  from  that 
having  the  curtains,  and  that  they  must  have  been 
all  placed  in  position  before  any  of  the  curtains 
could  be  hung  ;  therefore  the  eastern  corners  were 
up  and  ready  to  receive  the  side  hangings  when 
they  were  brought  forward. 

The  pillars  about  the  court,  following  the  width 
of  the  curtains,  are  necessarily  five  cubits  in 
height.  They  and  the  bars  connecting  them  were 
of  shittim  wood,  probably  covered  with  silver, 
though  this  is  an  inference  rather  than  a  clear 
statement,  for  there  are  some  indications  that  they 
were  covered  with  copper.  The  heading,  pins,  and 
rings  on  the  top  were  of  silver,  but  the  bases  or 
sockets  and  the  cord  pins  were  of  brass. 


VI. 


REMOVAL   AND    RE-ERECTION    OF    THli 
TABERNACLE. 


We  have  thus  traversed  the  features  presented 
by  a  general  study  of  the  descriptions  given  in 
the  Word.  Many  other  things,  arguments  for 
the  plans  proposed  or  enlargement  of  views  pre- 
sented, could  have  been  given,  but  these  seemed 
beyond  the  purpose  of  this  little  work,  and  con- 
fusing rather  than  helpful.  Before  leaving  the 
subject,  however,  it  w^ill  be  well  to  look  at  the 
method  or  sequence  of  events  in  taking  down  and 
re-erecting  the  tabernacle.  This  work  was  per- 
formed by  the  three  families  of  the  Levites ; 
amongst  whom  the  whole  was  apportioned.  When 
about  to  remove,  Aaron  and  his  sons  entered  the 
tabernacle,  as  only  they  and  Moses  could  do  while 
the  articles   were   exposed,  and   covered    the  ark 


71 


72 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 


with  the  veil  and  other  wrappings,  pushing  the 
bars  into  their  normal  places.  The  other  articles 
and  their  vessels  were  then  packed  and  covered, 
as  fully  described  in  Num.  iv.,  and  the  whole, 
under  the  care  and  supervision  of  Eleazer  were 
then  delivered  to  the  sons  of  Kohath,  not  one  of 
whom,  however,  was  permitted  to  touch  or  even 
to  look  upon  the  holy  things  themselves.  This 
family  also  had  charge  of  the  Great  Altar  of  Burnt 
Offerings  and  of  the  Laver.  All  these  things 
were  to  be  borne  upon  the  shoulders  by  means 
of  the  staves  belonging  to  each. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  arrangement  of  the 
coverings  on  the  holy  articles  of  the  tabernacle, 
remembering  that  the  things  themselves,  and  both 
the  materials  and  colors  of  the  coverings,  are  rep- 
resentative of  things  in  man  —  things  internal  and 
external. 

UNDER.  INTERMEDIATE.       OUTER. 

The  Ark.                     The  Veil  of  3  Colors  and  Gold.     Blue  Skins.  Blue  Cloth. 

The  Table.                                    Blue  Cloth.     Flame  (scarlet)  Cloth.  Blue   Skins. 

The  Lamp-stand.                        Blue  Cloth.  Blue   Skins. 

Altar  of  Incense.                        Blue  Cloth.  Blue  Skins. 

Altar  of  Burnt  Offerings.     Crimson  (purple)  Cloth.  Blue    Skins. 

When  all  these  articles  had  been  removed,  the 


RE-ERECTING  THE  TABERNACLE 


73 


sons  of  Gershon,  under  the  direction  of  Ithamar, 
took  down  the  tabernacle  curtains  and  the  cover- 
ings from  the  tent  and  then  the  tent  itself,  and 
packed  them  in  the  wagon  prepared  for  them 
(Num.  vii.  7).  Also  the  gate  and  the  curtains  of 
the  court  wall  with  their  cords,  pins,  etc.,  and 
finally,  the  sons  of  Merari,  also  under  the  super- 
vision of  Ithamar,  took  down  the  remaining  stand- 
ing portions  —  the  tabernacle  walls,  the  veil  and 
door  pillars,  the  pillars  of  the  gate  and  court,  with 
their  socket-blocks,  their  cords,  and  pins  —  and 
thus  completed  the  dismantlement  of  the  taber- 
nacle and  its  court. 

When  a  permanent  camping  place  was  reached, 
we  can  imagine  all  this  succession  as  reversed. 
The  ground  surveyed  and  accurately  laid  out,  a 
trench  for  the  socket-blocks  leveled  and  the  blocks 
placed  in  position,  and  the  walls  of  the  tabernacle 
erected.  At  the  same  time  the  pillars  of  the 
court  were  being  planted  and  braced.  Then  the 
curtains  were  spread  both  within  and  without  the 
building  and  about  the  court  ;  and  finally  the  holy 
articles    of    the    interior    of    the    tabernacle   were 


74       THF-  SAXCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

brought  in  and  deposited  exactly  where  they  were 
to  remain.  No  after  removal  or  handling  to 
change  position  was  necessary  nor,  consequently, 
permissable. 

In  speaking  of  the  arrangement  of  the  curtains 
forming  the  dark  interior  room  of  the  tabernacle, 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  it  was  pointed  out  that  while 
the  front  part  with  the  taches  was  supported  on 
the  bar  above  the  veil  pillars,  the  two  western 
corners  must  necessarily  have  been  held  up  by 
poles.  Nothing  is  said  anywhere  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  such  poles  having  been  made,  and  it  is  a 
cardinal  point  with  us  that  we  should  add  nothing 
to  the  record.  Certainly  a  tent  pole  is  implied, 
for  it  is  a  necessary  adjunct  of  a  tent  ;  and  if  our 
arrangement  of  the  inner  curtain  is  an  approach 
to  the  truth  the  corners  must  be  supported.  They 
will  not  stand  alone.  In  this  dilemma  the  thought 
is  presented  that  possibly  the  staves  of  the  several 
articles  may  have  been  used  for  both  these  pur- 
poses. They  were  gold-covered  and  so  would 
harmonize  with  the  golden  plank  walls.  They 
could  have  been  made  of  suitable  lenefth   for  the 


POLES  SUPPORTING  THE  CURTAINS 


75 


ends  proposed,  without  unfitting  them  for  the  office 
which  is  mentioned,  and  we  see  equal  dignity  and 
sacredness  in  their  supporting  the  essential  cur- 
tains and  roof  of  the  tabernacle,  with  that  of  sup- 
porting the  several  articles  when  borne  upon  the 
shoulders  of  their  bearers.  So  used  they  would' 
be  alive  and  active,  and  not  for  the  time  dead  tim- 
ber. They  seem  to  represent  faculties  or  powers 
which  may  not  be  laid  aside  dormant  because 
supposed  to  be  fitted  only  to  some  purpose  not 
then  present  —  some  talent  which  may  be  safely 
laid  aside  in  a  napkin  till  called  for  —  if  any  such 
there  be.  So  this  appears  to  us  and  we  offer  it 
for  consideration. 


VII. 
THE    PRIESTLY    GARMENTS. 


The  clothing  of  Aaron  and  his  sons  is  so  mi- 
nutely described,  and  so  evidently  contains  spirit- 
ual truth  of  importance,  that  it  is  well  to  get  as 
clear  a  picture  as  possible  of  all  the  items  men- 
tioned. In  the  tabernacle  the  articles  of  highest 
significance  were  within  the  building,  and  these 
v/ere  covered  by  curtains  of  four  graded  values. 
I,  Those  of  rich  colors  and  gold  embroidery.  2. 
The  goats'-hair  tent.  3.  Red  rams'  skins.  4.  Hya- 
cinth or  blue  goats'  skins.  Here  the  rich  articles 
both  in  color  and  in  intrinsic  value  are  outside, 
and  the  plainer  ones  in  form  and  material  are 
covered.  Taking  these  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  worn,  the  first  is  the  short  garment  covering 
the  middle  part  of  the  body. 

96 


THE  LINEN  BREECHES  AND  CO  A  T 


77 


And  thou  shalt  make  them  linen  breeches  to  cover  their 
nakedness ;  from  the  loins  even  unto  the  thighs  they  shall 
reach ;  and  they  shall  be  upon  Aaron,  and  upon  his  sons, 
when  they  come  in  unto  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation, 
or  when  they  come  near  unto  the  altar  to  minister  in  the 
holy  place ;  that  they  bear  not  iniquity  and  die  ;  it  shall  be 
a  statute  forever  unto  him  and  his  seed  after  him.  (Exod. 
xxviii.  42,  43.) 

This  article  of  dress  can  be  best  described  as 
a  loose  bag  with  an  opening  at  each  of  the  lower 
corners  for  the  feet  and  lower  limbs  to  pass 
through.  The  upper  part  was  gathered  and  tied 
about  the  waist. 

The  coat,  the  second  garment,  has  but  a  few 
words  of  description  or  reference.  Like  the  for- 
mer, this  seems  to  have  been  an  adaptation  of  the 
common  dress  of  the  country,  and,  in  the  light 
of  a  knowledge  of  these,  may  be  pretty  well  under- 
stood and  pictured.  It  was  of  fine  linen,  embroid- 
ered in  colors,  perhaps  with  the  forms  of  flowers. 
It  was  like  a  shirt,  rather  spare  in  width,  but  long 
and  reaching  nearly  to  the  feet.  The  sleeves 
may  have  been  tied  about  the  wrists  or  lower 
part  of  the  arms,  and  at  the  waist  it  was  confined 
by  a  girdle  of   fine   colored  and  embroidered  ma- 


78 


THE  SANCTUARY  OR  TENT  OF  MEETING 


terial,  which  was  wound  about  the  body  and  tied 
in  front,  the  ends  reaching  nearly  to  the  feet  when 
the  priest  was  not  engaged  in  sacrificial  duty,  at 
which  times  it  was  thrown  over  the  shoulder. 

And  thou  slialt  make  the  robe  of  the  ephod  all  of  blue. 
And  there  shall  be  a  hole  in  the  top  of  it,  in  the  midst  there- 
of ;  it  shall  have  a  binding  of  woven  work  round  about  the 
hole  of  it,  as  it  were  the  hole  of  an  habergeon  [coat  of  mail, 
R.  v.]  that  it  be  not  rent.  And  beneath  the  hem  of  it  thou 
shalt  make  pomegranates  of  blue,  and  of  purple,  and  of 
scarlet,  round  about  the  hem  thereof :  and  bells  of  gold  be- 
tween them  round  about ;  a  golden  bell  and  a  pomegranate, 
a  golden  bell  and  a  pomegranate,  upon  the  hem  of  the  robe 
round  about.  And  it  shall  be  upon  Aaron  to  minister ;  and 
his  sound  shall  be  heard  when  he  goeth  in  unto  the  holy 
place  before  the  Lord,  and  when  he  cometh  out,  that  he  die 
not.     (ExoD.  xxviii.  31-35.) 

The  before  mentioned  garments  were  worn  by 
all  the  priests ;  but  this  one  was  especially  pre- 
pared for  the  high  priest.  It  was  probably  a 
woolen  fabric.  From  the  description  of  the  open- 
ing for  the  neck  it  seems  to  have  been  a  long 
single  piece  of  material  without  seam,  but  with 
an  aperature  left  in  the  weaving  for  the  passage 
of  the  head.  This  opening  was  bound  with  a 
strip  of  similar  material  to  prevent  tearing.     The 


THE  ROBE  OF  BLUE 


79 


garment  was  bound  to  the  body  at  the  waist  by 
the  curious  gir- 
dle attached  to 
the  ephod.  On 
the  lower  edges 
or  hem  of  the 
robe  there  was  a 
fringe    in    the 

form  of  balls  or  pomegranates  of 
blue,  purple,  and  scarlet,  between 
each  two  of  which  there  was  a 
golden  bell. 
It  may  be  noted  that  in  the 
Cesnola  Collection  in  the  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  in 
New  York,  there  are  several  bells 
of  bronze  of  very  ancient  make, 
closely  resembling  the  forms  now 
in  use  and  size  fitted  for  this  pur- 
pose. With  the  knowledge  that  such  forms  were 
then  in  use,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these 
may  have  been  similar  rather  than  of  the  less 
agreeable  shape  sometimes  shown. 


8o      THE  SANCTUARY  OK  TENT  OF  MEETING 

This  is  also  a  form  of  ornament  found  on  Egyp- 
tian statues.  Not  only  is  the  ball  or  sun,  alter- 
nating with  a  bell,  seen  repeated  in  a  long  series, 
but  the  crescent,  luna,  and  bell  are  also  found. 
This,  then,  like  so  many  other  things  connected 
with  this  inquiry,  seems  to  indicate  Egyptian  in- 
fluence. 


And  they  shall  make  the  ephod  of  gold,  of  blue,  and  of 
purple,  of  scarlet,  and  fine  twined  linen,  with  cunning  work. 
It  shall  have  the  two  shoulder  pieces  thereof  joined  at  the 
two  edges  thereof,  and  so  it  shall  be  joined  together.  And 
the  curious  girdle  of  the  ephod,  which  is  upon  it,  shall  be  of 
the  same,  according  to  the  work  thereof ;  even  of  gold,  of 
blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine  twined  linen.  (ExoD. 
xxviii.  6-8.) 

The  ephod  thus  described  was  of  rich  colored 
and  embroidered  material.  It  consisted  of  "  two 
shoulder  pieces  "  or  strips  of  cloth  passing  over 
the  shoulders  from  the  girdle  in  front  to  a  bind- 
ing at  the  waist  behind.  The  fabric  was  woven 
narrow,  probably  of  two  handbreadths  in  width, 
the  stripes,  if  such  was  the  arrangement  of  the 


THE  EPHOD  3  J 


colors,  consequently  running  across  the  goods,  or 
horizontally,  when  worn. 

In  front  the  two  pieces  were 
attached  to  the  girdle,  a  long 
sash  of  similar  material,  not 
close  together  but  apart,  so  as 
to  leave  an  opening  a  span  wide 
which  was  filled  by  the  breast- 
plate. The  other  permanent  at- 
tachments of  the  ephod  are  the 
two  rings  of  gold  in  front,  just 
above  the  girdle  to   which   the 

breastplate  was  attached  by  means  of  a  lacing  of 

blue,  and  the  two  shoulder  "  stones  of  memorial " 

which  are  thus  described. 

And  thou  shalt  take  two  onyx  stones  and  grave  on  them 
the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel ;  six  of  their  names  on 
one  stone  and  the  other  six  names  of  the  rest  on  the  other 
stone,  according  to  their  birth.  With  the  work  of  an  en- 
graver in  stone,  like  the  engravings  of  a  signet,  shalt  thou 
engrave  the  two  stones  with  the  names  of  the  children  of 
Israel;  thou  shalt  make  them  to  be  set  in  ouches  of  gold. 
And  thou  shalt  put  the  two  stones  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
ephod  for  stones  of  memorial  unto  the  children  of  Israel. 
And  Aaron  shall  bear  their  names  before  the  Lord  upon  his 
two  shoulders  for  a  memorial.     (Exod.  xxviii.  9-12.) 


82       THE  SANCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

No  words  of  explanation  are  required  to  make 
more  clear  the  mental  picture  of  these  two  stones, 
with  their  settings  and  attachments,  than  may  be 
formed  from  the  words  of  the  sacred  text. 

And  thou  shalt  make  the  breastplate  of  judgment  with 
cunning  work;  after  the  work  of  the  ephod  thou  shalt  make 
it ;  of  gold,  of  blue,  and  of  purple,  and  of  scarlet,  and  of  fine 
twined  linen,  shalt  thou  make  it.  Foursquare  it  shall  be 
being  doubled  ;  a  span  shall  be  the  length  thereof,  and  a 
span  shall  be  the  breadth  thereof.  And  thou  shalt  set  in  it 
settings  of  stones,  even  four  rows  of  stones :  the  first  row 
shall  be  a  sardius  \a  7-itby'\^  a  topaz,  and  a  carbuncle  :  this 
shall  be  the  first  row.  And  the  second  row  shall  be  an  em- 
erald \a  cJirysopyas2is'\,  a  sapphire,  and  a  diamond.  And  the 
third  row  a  ligure  \a  cyam2is'\,  an  agate,  and  an  amethyst. 
And  the  fourth  row  a  beryl  [^ci  tarshis/i'\,  and  an  onyx,  and  a 
jasper;  they  shall  be  set  in  gold  in  their  inclosings.  And 
the  stones  shall  be  with  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
twelve,  according  to  their  names,  like  the  engravings  of  a 
signet ;  every  one  with  his  name  shall  they  be  according  to 
the  twelve  tribes.     (Exod.  xxviii.  15-21.) 

The  breastplate  has  generally  been  represented 
as  of  metal,  and  the  stones  as  set  in  three  per- 
pendicular rows  of  four  each  ;  whereas  a  closer 
reading  of  the  description  would  have  shown  the 
body  to  have  been  of  a  fabric  woven,  like  the 
ephod,   of  colored    threads,   and    square    in    shape 


THE  BREASTPLA  TE 


83 


after  being  doubled.  It  was  a  span  square,  — 
three  hand-breadths,  or  about  nine  inches. 

Thus  thought  of,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  four 
rows  of  stones,  of  three  each  are  naturally  divided 
into  two  equal  divisions,  six  on  the  right  and  six 
on  the  left  of  the  central  line  ;  and  these  are 
again  to  be  divided  into  two  groups  of  three  each. 
There  is  much  doubt  about  the  names  given  to 
these  stones  in  our  version,  but  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  order  and  grouping  refer  to  interior 
spiritual  qualities.  It  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this 
little  work  to  treat  of  these  more  than  to  suofsrest 
the  appearance  and  form  of  this  beautiful  and 
representative  symbol. 

Each  of  the  twelve  stones  had  a  name  of  one 
of  the  tribes  of  Israel  engraved  upon  it,  but  in 
what  order  these  were  arranged  is  not  known.  In 
the  Word  these  are  given  in  many  ways,  accord- 
ing to  the  spiritual  phase  of  the  relation,  and  not 
being  mentioned  here,  it  is  better  not  to  speculate 
thereon. 

As  to  the  colors  themselves  it  can  be  stated 
with  reason  that  those  on  the  right  breast  of  the 


84       THE  SAXCTUARY  OR   TENT  OF  MEETING 

high  priest  were  of  various  shades  of  red,  graded 
from  the  deepest  and  purest  to  one  largely  tinged 
with  blue  ;  and  that  those  on  his  left  were  graded 
from  deep  blue  to  tones  approaching  a  bluish 
white.  This  has  been  treated  of  by  many  writers, 
but  the  most  satisfactory  study  of  the  subject 
with  which  we  are  acquainted  is  that  by  Rev. 
Edward  Madeley  in  his  work  on  *'  The  Science 
of  Correspondences  Elucidated." 

Of  Aaron's  head-dress  we  know  too  little  to 
warrant  us  in  drawing  other  than  the  conventional 
turban.  It  was  something  different  from  this,  un- 
doubtedly, but  we  have  preferred  to  show  it  thus 
rather  than  make  a  form  which  would  be  purely 
imaginary.  The  j^late  bearing  the  sacred  motto, 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord,"  is  drawn  in  this  illustra- 
tion in  the  simplest  form  p()ssii;)le,  though  there 
is  reason  for  thinking  that  it  may  have  been  in 
the  shape  of  a  lotus  or  papyrus  or  some  other 
kind  of  flower.  Here,  as  in  many  other  places, 
wc  ha\e  thought  it  better  to  leave  things  unsaid 
or  undone,  rather  than  ap})ear  to  speak  with  an 
unwarranted    degree    of    certainty.       This     i)late. 


CONCLUSIOX  85 


whatever  its  form,  was  bound  about  the   head  by 
a  ribbon  of  blue. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  the  author  would  re- 
mind the  reader  that  aside  from  the  direct  words 
of  the  record,  which  are  Divine  and  infallible, 
everything  said  or  thought  on  this  subject  must 
partake,  more  or  less,  of  the  human  and  fallible 
element,  and  this  in  proportion  and  grade  with 
the  varying  thought,  perception,  or  reception  of 
the  investigator.  The  views  presented  here  are, 
therefore,  necessarily  imperfect,  and  it  has  been 
his  intention  to  state  them  without  dogmatism  or 
too  positive  assertion.  They  seem  true  to  him 
today,  but  another  stage  may  show  forms  in  fuller 
accord  with  the  truth,  and  when  that  time  comes 
he  hopes  to  be  ready  to  change  any  or  all  of  the 
views  here  expressed  as  new  light  may  demand. 


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